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DAVID    JORDAN    HIGGINS 


Centennial  ffltmovwl  \Xolume 


HUMAN  NATURE 

A  Psychological  Study 


BY 

DAVID  JORDAN  HIGGINS 


The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man. 

— Pope 


THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1916,  by 
DAVID  JORDAN  HIGGINS 


SRLF 
URL 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction 7 

Foreword 5 


I.  First  Principles  of  Human  Nature 

CHAPTER 

I.  Facts  of  Consciousness 11 

II.  Implication  of  These  Facts 15 

II.  Analysis  and  Classification  of 
Powers 

III.  What  is  Human  Nature? 21 

IV.  Capacities  of  Psychic  Action 25 

V.  The  Psychology  of  Feelings SO 

VI.  The  Volitional  Nature 34 

VII.  Psychology  of  Rational  Intelligence. ...  39 

III.  Anthropology 

VIII.  Development  of  Human  Nature 47 

IX.  Oriental  Psychology 54 

X.  Western  Mentality 62 

XI.  Modern  Psychology 69 

XII.  Relation  of  Cosmic  to  Psychic  Nature . .  76 

XIII.  Unity  and  Continuity  of  Human  Nature  83 

3 


CONTENTS 

IV.  Religiousness  in  Human  Nature 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIV.  The  Religious  Capacity 91 

XV.  Meaning  of  Religious  Experience 95 

XVI.  Philosophy  of  Religious  Experience 104 

V.  Ethics  of  Human  Nature 

XVII.  Standard  of  Morals 115 

XVIII.  Authority  in  Conscience 120 

XIX.  Divine  Imperatives  on  Man 125 

VI.  Civic  Character  of  Human 
Nature 

XX.  Development  of  Human  Civilization.  137 

XXI.  The  Ideal  World-Life 144 

XXII.  The  Ideal  Manhood 152 

XXIII.  Divine  Incarnation  in  Human  Nature  156 

XXIV.  The  Problem  of  Human  Life 161 

VII.  Eugenics  of  Human  Nature 

XXV.  Social  Service  Reform 173 

XXVI.  Civil  Service  Reform 181 

XXVII.  Industrial  Reform 187 

XXVIII.  Democracy  of  Human  Nature 194 


FOREWORD 

This  book  is  an  interpretation  of  human 
nature  under  the  guide  of  such  thinkers  as 
Kant,  Hegel,  Lotze,  and  Bowne.  Their 
definition  that  "being  is  action"  takes  the 
place  of  the  old  Greek  conception  that  "be- 
ing is  substance."  The  ground  of  all  being 
is  life-energy.  Human  nature  is  human 
being;  the  dynamic  of  human  nature  is  life- 
energy;  and,  therefore,  our  study  of  human 
nature  is  a  study  of  human  activities  under 
the  guidance  of  experience  rather  than  of 
history  or  theology. 

The  life  of  an  individual  cannot,  of  course, 
exhibit  all  the  activities  of  human  nature, 
but  there  are  so  many  activities  common  to 
all  individuals  that  a  unity  of  human  nature 
may  be  inferred,  so  that  our  study  is  of  the 
dynamics  of  human  nature,  and  considers 
that  nature  as  a  unit. 

The  method  of  this  study  is  psychological 
rather  than  historical  or  theological.     His- 

6 


FOREWORD 

tory  records  the  exploits  of  men,  and  not 
the  cause  of  their  acts ;  theology  relates  only 
what  men  believe.  We  must  give  heed  to 
intuition,  for  the  facts  of  life,  as  learned 
through  the  intuitive  activities  of  the  soul, 
are  the  foundation  of  all  knowledge. 

The  study  is  suggestive,  and  in  some  in- 
stances is  tentative.  But  it  is  put  forth  as 
a  possible  help  to  the  student  of  human 
nature,  and  is  open  to  the  candid  criticism  of 
the  reader. 


6 


INTRODUCTION 

Few  are  the  individuals  who  outlive  their 
generation  and  reach  the  hundredth  mile- 
stone; fewer  still  are  the  authors  who  give 
the  new  generation  a  volume  in  their  cen- 
tenary year.  This  accomplishment  on  the 
part  of  our  author  marks  his  book  as  unique, 
and  calls  for  congratulations  that  he  has 
lived  so  long  and  wrought  so  well. 

It  is  a  wide  ground  which  he  covers  in  his 

present  treatise.     Intelligently,  boldly,  and 

constructively  he  sweeps  the  fields  of  history, 

psychology,  political  economy,  and  religion 

with  a  style  and  treatment  at  once  original 

and  instructive.    The  reader,  opening  a  page 

at  random,  will  find  himself  interested  in  the 

particular  theme  reviewed,  and  will  desire  to 

read  the  further  chapters  of  this  unusual 

book.    For  its  intrinsic  worth  we  cannot  but 

commend  this  Memorial  Volume  from  the 

pen  of  our  centenarian  author. 

Altogether,  the  reader  will  be  pleased  and 

7 


INTRODUCTION 

surprised  at  the  evidences  of  vigorous  intel- 
lectual activity  in  extreme  age  which  are 
herein  displayed.  A  new  significance  is 
given  to  the  words  of  the  poet  which  instinc- 
tively come  to  mind: 

Cato  learned  Greek  at  eighty ;  Sophocles 
Wrote  his  grand  (Edipus,  and  Simonides 
Bore  off  the  prize  of  verse  from  his  compeers 
When  each  had  numbered  more  than  fourscore 
years. 

These  are  indeed  exceptions;  but  they  show 

How  far  the  Gulf  Stream  of  our  life  may  flow 

Into  the  arctic  regions  of  our  lives, 

Where  little  else  than  life  itself  survives. 

*     *     * 


8 


FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  HUMAN 
NATURE 


Know  thyself. — Delphic  Oracle. 


CHAPTER  I 
FACTS  OF  CONSCIOUSNESS 

From  all  we  know  of  phenomena  it  is  a 
fair  deduction  that  life  is  a  creative  energy 
forever  acting  in  the  production  of  organic 
forms.  Whether  we  call  this  creative  process 
evolution — a  process  from  simple  to  more 
complex  by  gradual  stages — or  whether  we 
hold  the  traditional  belief  that  creation  is 
a  process  of  instantaneous  production,  we 
call  the  power  which  creates  life-energy. 
There  is  no  other  definition  in  terms  of 
earthly  language. 

The  facts  of  consciousness  are,  to  this  end, 
our  last  resort,  and  we  make  them  as  they 
spontaneously  obtrude  the  foundation  of 
our  activities.     To  enumerate: 

1.     The  earliest  fact  in  consciousness  is 

that  of  existence.     This  fact  is  intuitively 

known.    It  cannot  be  rationally  proved,  and 

needs  no  proof.     When  Descartes  wrote, 

11 


HUMAN  NATURE 

"Cogito,  ergo  sum"  he  inferred  that  think- 
ing is  proof  of  existence.  But  he  forgot 
that  he  must  exist  before  he  could  think. 
I  think  because  I  exist.  My  ability  to  think 
inheres  in  my  existence;  but  the  fact  of  ex- 
istence, known  in  consciousness,  is  prior  to 
all  thinking. 

2.  The  fact  of  personality  coordinates 
with  that  of  existence.  This  knowledge 
identifies  myself  to  myself,  and  differen- 
tiates my  existence  from  that  of  all  others, 
though  I  have  not  sufficient  data  to  define 
my  personality.  The  knowledge  is  intuitive, 
and  is  the  ground  of  all  otherness. 

3.  Another  fact  of  primary  knowledge 
is  that  of  a  unity  between  soul  and  body. 
There  is  no  duality  in  human  nature,  how- 
ever separate  and  different  the  two  seem. 
We  speak  of  self  as  the  owner  of  both  soul 
and  body.  The  knowledge  is  not  the  result 
of  logical  thinking,  but  is  a  primary  fact 
of  knowledge. 

4.  Another  primary  fact  of  conscious- 
ness is  that  of  a  "Somewhat"  obtruding 
upon  us  and  promoting  a  feeling  of  rever- 

12 


FACTS  OF  CONSCIOUSNESS 

ence  and  of  fear.  We  instinctively  defer 
to  this  feeling.  There  is  a  felt  "Presence." 
It  is  personal  to  us,  because  we  find  it  im- 
possible to  worship  or  fear  the  impersonal. 

5.  Another  fact  of  intuitive  knowledge 
is  the  instinct  of  kinship  with  all  human 
beings.  We  feel  some  sort  of  a  blood  rela- 
tion. It  is  an  affinity  that  we  do  not  have 
for  any  other  than  the  human  species.  It 
is  a  feeling  of  incompleteness  in  ourselves. 

6.  Many  other  facts  of  intuitive  knowl- 
edge we  name  "primary  truths."  They  lie 
back  of  all  logical  reasoning,  such  as  cause, 
reality,  and  relation,  and  are  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  rational  knowledge.  By  cause  we 
mean  an  indefinite  somewhat  that  produces 
an  effect.  By  reality  what  do  we  mean  ex- 
cept an  indefinable  certainty,  rising  spon- 
taneously, concerning  an  object?  And  what 
do  we  mean  by  relation  but  a  mysterious 
bond  of  action  between  subject  and  object? 

The  same  may  be  said  of  those  primary 
facts  of  consciousness  lying  back  of  religion 
and  philosophy.  All  are  basal  principles 
from   which   follow   all   psychic    activities. 

13 


HUMAN  NATURE 

They  constitute  a  "court  of  review"  for  all 
logical  conclusions.  They  have  the  power 
of  apprehending  the  reality  of  a  matter 
before  the  intellect  has  investigated  in  detail. 
They  have  the  function  of  apprehending 
divine  manifestations.  Here  the  seer  re- 
ceives his  revelations  and  the  poet  his  in- 
spirations. 


14 


CHAPTER  II 
IMPLICATION  OF  THESE  FACTS 

We  get  a  clearer  understanding  of  the 
first  principles  of  human  nature,  just  con- 
sidered, if  we  inquire  what  they  imply. 
They  cover  all  the  activities  of  the  psychic 
nature,  and  are  the  foundation  of  all  knowl- 
edge. 

The  fact  of  conscious  existence  is  the 
basis  for  the  philosophy  of  being.  The  old 
Greek  thought  grounded  being  in  "sub- 
stance," and  represented  the  mysterious 
idea  of  "life"  in  the  form  of  a  beautiful 
human  body  named  "Psyche"  Contempo- 
raneously, the  Hebrew  conception  of  being 
was  formal  substance;  the  Divine  Being  was 
given  human  hands  and  feet  and  other 
organs;  he  thought  and  walked,  he  loved 
and  hated,  as  men  do.  Mediaeval  Christi- 
anity formulated  a  "Trinity"  of  three  Per- 
sons having  like  substance.     But  since  the 

15 


HUMAN  NATURE 

days  of  Kant,  Hegel,  and  Lotze  modern 
thought  no  longer  anthropomorphizes  God 
nor  gives  form  to  spirit.  "Being  is  action," 
say  these  latest  philosophers.  The  change 
really  began  when  Jesus  taught  the  form- 
less spirituality  of  God  and,  by  inference, 
the  formless  spirituality  of  all  being. 

The  fact  of  a  conscious  unity  of  body  and 
soul  implies  a  definite  selfhood.  Person- 
ality, like  being,  is  a  matter  of  intuitive 
knowledge  rather  than  of  logical  proof.  We 
cannot  define  it  in  logical  terms,  but  it  is 
connate  with  the  fact  of  existence.  We 
name  this  self  a  person  rather  than  a  thing; 
and  we  infer  the  difference  from  experience, 
while  the  fact  is  one  of  intuitive  knowledge. 

The  fact  of  an  intuitive  apprehension  of 
God  implies  an  immanent  manifestation  of 
some  spirituality  obtruding  on  our  con- 
sciousness, and  this  manifestation  implies  a 
mani fester.  We  have  no  such  intuitive  ap- 
prehension of  any  other  being  persistently 
obtruding  upon  our  consciousness.  We  do 
not  apprehend  the  existence  of  other  beings, 
but  infer  this  from  sensuous  perception. 

16 


IMPLICATION  OF  THESE  FACTS 

The  dynamic  of  life  may  be  considered 
the  cause  of  all  facts  of  consciousness.  As 
a  term  so  indefinable  we  may  call  life  the 
creative  energy  of  God,  since  tracing  back 
through  its  successive  stages  we  are  forced 
to  postulate  him.  Life  is  the  cause  both  of 
identity  and  change.  If  I  am,  I  know  it 
intuitively.  Change  is  also  an  activity  of 
life;  it  is  both  growth  and  decay.  We 
change  because  we  live,  and  live  by  change. 


17 


II 

ANALYSIS  AND   CLASSIFICA- 
TION OF  POWERS 


Nature — the  sum  of  qualities  and  attri- 
butes which  make  a  thing  what  it  is. 
— Webster. 


CHAPTER  III 
WHAT  IS  HUMAN  NATURE? 

The  first  necessity  in  this  study  is  rightly 
to  define  the  word  "nature."  It  is  derived 
from  natus,  the  past  participle  of  the  verb 
nascor,  "to  be  born,"  and  means  an  about- 
to-be,  a  becoming.  The  nature  of  a  dog, 
for  instance,  is  the  way  it  acts;  the  nature 
of  a  man  is  the  manner  of  his  life.  This 
nature  is  the  sum  of  the  attributes  or  quali- 
ties of  his  being.  So  the  definition  of  human 
nature  requires  the  study  of  the  qualities 
that  characterize  mankind. 

Human  nature  has  two  departments,  the 

organic  and  the  psychic,  whose  activities  are 

so  interblended  that  it  is  often  impossible 

to  distinguish  between  the  two.    The  study 

of  either  involves  the  other.     The  organic 

tendencies  and  propensions,  which  play  so 

large  a  part  in  human  life,  are  back  of  the 

motives  of  the  will ;  they  have  no  moral  value 

21 


HUMAN  NATURE 

in  themselves  until  the  motives  are  followed 
which  they  inspire. 

The  sciences  of  biology  and  physiology 
are  a  necessary  study  to  the  full  under- 
standing of  human  nature.  The  former  has 
to  do  with  the  formation  of  the  physical 
structure,  and  presents  the  organism  fully 
equipped  for  its  work  as  it  comes  from  the 
hand  of  Life.  Physiology  tells  us  of  the 
relation  of  each  organ  to  the  psychic  nature 
and  how  the  psychic  is  dependent  upon  the 
right  functioning  of  each  organ. 

When  we  think  of  human  nature  we  are 
forced  to  postulate  a  personal  subject  as 
possessing  that  nature.  We  are  then 
immediately  confronted  with  the  indefinable 
term  "personality."  For  it  we  find  no 
synonyms  that  will  make  the  term  clearer, 
and  are  forced  to  take  it  as  an  intuitive  idea. 
But  it  is  a  necessary  term.  We  cannot 
think  of  an  ultimate  cause  of  action  with- 
out attributing  personality  to  human  nature, 
for  the  reason  that  this  can  originate  action. 

The  psychic  capacities  of  human  nature — 
the  intuitional,   the   intellectual,   the   emo- 

22 


WHAT  IS  HUMAN  NATURE? 

tional,  and  the  volitional — all  harmonize  in 
a  unity  of  life.  There  is  no  dualistic  action 
by  the  forces  of  soul  and  body.  But  it  is 
clear  that  there  must  be  a  centralizing  and 
commanding  power  molding  all  activities 
into  a  unity  of  action.  This  is  not  to  be 
found  in  the  intellect,  which  is  subordinate 
to  the  will,  nor  in  the  emotions,  nor  in  the 
volition,  which  is  but  the  choice  of  motives; 
but  it  inheres  in  the  intuitional  capacity  of 
the  soul.  All  psychic  movements  are  from 
this  center.  And,  if  it  be  objected  that  this 
showing  limits  the  freedom  of  the  will,  let  us 
remember  that  the  will  is  simply  the  soul 
determining  how  to  act. 

Mentality  is  a  department  of  psychic 
activity  needing  careful  analysis.  Great 
confusion  arises  from  considering  mind  and 
soul  as  two  distinct  entities  in  action.  Some 
psychologists  make  the  matter  more  com- 
plicated by  saying  that  sometimes  the  mind 
acts  and  sometimes  the  soul;  and  even 
greater  confusion  is  caused  when  they  are 
made  synonymous.  There  are  not  two  dis- 
tinct causes  acting  in  human  life.    But,  with 

23 


HUMAN  NATURE 

self  as  the  supreme  and  authoritative  actor, 
working  in  orderly  method,  we  have  a 
monism  in  human  nature  and  above  all  a 
true  science  of  mentality. 

There  is  a  realm  of  psychic  phenomena 
which  is  attracting  the  attention  as  well  of 
scientists  and  of  many  others  who  delight  in 
the  occult.  The  study  of  these  phenomena 
is  principally  under  the  use  of  hypnotism  or 
induced  sleep.  The  subject  treated  must  be 
put  into  a  psychic  state  by  closing  every  ave- 
nue of  sensuous  knowledge,  as  in  ordinary 
sleep.  The  purpose  is  that  he  may  be  in  a 
condition  to  accept  the  suggestions  of  the 
operator  without  the  distraction  of  passing 
objects,  for  it  is  by  the  passive  reception  of 
suggestions  that  the  phenomena  occur.  In 
other  words,  the  subject  must  retire  from 
the  normal,  objective  activities  of  life  into  the 
realm  of  the  intuitional.  Some  physicians 
are  finding  beneficial  the  therapeutic  effect 
of  hypnotic  treatment  in  cases  of  high  nerv- 
ous disorder;  the  curative  power  of  Spirit- 
ualists, Christian  Scientists,  and  faith  healers 
lies  in  this  fact  of  hypnotic  suggestion. 

24 


CHAPTER  IV 

CAPACITIES  OF  PSYCHIC 
ACTION 

These  capacities  are  potencies  of  action, 
constantly  in  process  of  development.  They 
are  not  to  be  taken  as  entities  of  force,  but 
rather  as  modes  of  personal  activity.  The 
personal  self  in  its  unity  acts  in  different 
ways,  but  always  as  a  unit  of  action.  Psy- 
chologically, these  capacities  are  named  the 
intuitive,  the  intellectual,  the  volitional,  and 
the  emotional.  Taking  them  in  the  order 
named : 

The  intuitive  is  the  capacity  for  appre- 
hending truths  by  "insight,"  and  is  claimed 
for  human  nature  exclusively.  It  is  the 
ability  to  realize  an  object  before  the  mind 
has  time  for  the  examination  of  its  attri- 
butes, and  to  hold  it  fast  in  thought  for  men- 
tal examination.  It  is  that  in  the  soul  of  a 
poet  by  which  he  perceives  the  essence  of  a 
truth.    It  is  the  ability  of  the  nature-lover  to 

25 


HUMAN  NATURE 

see  the  reality  lying  behind  phenomena.  It 
is  the  capability  of  the  seer  to  take  into  his 
consiousness  a  divine  suggestion  and  to  trans- 
late that  message  into  the  idioms  of  speech. 
It  is  the  communion  of  a  soul  with  God  in 
the  inner  chamber  where  the  self  finds  Deity. 
In  a  sentence,  this  intuitive  capacity  is  the 
distinguishing  difference  between  the  human 
and  animal  natures. 

We  shall  get  a  better  conception  of  the 
intuitive  department  of  human  activities  if 
we  think  of  man  as  a  pure  spirit.  As  such 
he  is  in  close  relation  with  the  Infinite  Spirit. 
Yet  this  does  not  imply  that  the  human 
spirit  is  a  part  of  the  Infinite.  The  Infinite 
cannot  divide  himself  into  parts  and  remain 
an  infinite  unit.  The  human  spirit  cannot, 
therefore,  be  a  part  of  him.  It  has  per- 
sonality. We  may  think  of  the  body  as 
machinery,  the  soul  as  intelligence,  the  spirit 
as  self -personality.  Dissolve  the  composite, 
and  the  individual  is  extinct ;  only  the  spirit 
remains.  The  chief  purpose  of  this  review  is 
to  show  the  supreme  place  of  spiritual  intui- 
tion in  the  make-up  of  human  nature. 

26 


PSYCHIC  ACTION 

The  capacity  of  intelligence  is  not  so  dis- 
tinct a  mark  of  difference  between  the 
human  and  animal  nature  as  is  intuition. 
Many  cases  of  intelligence  in  domestic  ani- 
mals are  under  common  observation.  Care- 
ful notice  fails  to  find  any  sure  boundary 
between  instinct  and  reason.  A  horse,  kept 
in  a  paddock  where  were  a  watering  trough 
and  pump,  had  seen  his  master  draw  water 
for  him  to  drink.  One  day,  going  up  to  the 
trough  to  drink  but  finding  no  water  in  it, 
the  horse  took  hold  of  the  handle  with  his 
mouth,  moved  it  up  and  down  as  he  had  seen 
his  master  do,  and  drew  sufficient  water  for 
his  thirst.  And,  ever  after,  he  was  left  to  do 
this.  This  is  claimed  as  an  instance  of  imita- 
tion through  instinct.  But  was  there  not 
some  mental  process  in  the  horse  very 
similar  to  reasoning.  If  his  master  could 
get  water  for  him  in  that  way,  did  he  not 
reason  that  he  could  do  the  same?  At  least 
he  would  try  it.  And  numerous  similar  in- 
stances are  given  in  the  case  of  domesticated 
animals  that  go  to  prove  a  degree  of  ration- 
ality in  animal  nature.     So  it  is  impossible 

27 


HUMAN  NATURE 

to  determine  where  reason  begins  and  in- 
stinct ends.  May  it  not  be  that  the  dif- 
ference is  only  in  degree?  Many  persons 
give  but  little  evidence  of  possessing  any  in- 
tellectual capacity  above  that  of  domesti- 
cated animals.  Is  it  not  true  that  all  organic 
beings  possess  a  potential  capacity  of  intelli- 
gence needing  only  development  to  make  it 
manifest?  At  least  the  evidence  is  strong 
that  intelligence  is  not  a  distinguishing  mark 
of  human  nature. 

So  we  may  assert  of  volition.  The 
choice  of  motives  in  action  is  common  to  all 
organic  being.  A  power  of  selection  by 
voluntary  choice  is  found  in  the  make-up  of 
all  creatures.  Hence  there  is  but  one  capac- 
ity which  belongs  exclusively  to  human 
nature  and  which  is  its  crowning  honor — the 
capacity  of  intuitively  apprehending  reality. 

Our  emotional  nature  is  grounded  in  cer- 
tain appetencies  or  propensions,  some  of 
which  are  organic  and  some  psychic.  The 
appetence  has  a  channel  of  action  which  we 
may  call  the  "idea"  of  some  object  to  be  at- 
tained.    This  creates  feelings  or  emotions 

28 


PSYCHIC  ACTION 

that  are  "excitements"  of  soul,  and  these 
produce  bodily  movements  which  cause 
what  we  call  "sympathetic  action."  It  is 
true  that  emotions  produce  certain  bodily 
states,  and  likewise  that  these  states  produce 
corresponding  emotions.  Thus,  the  attitude 
of  kneeling  induces  the  feeling  of  reverence, 
and  the  feeling  of  reverence  will  induce  a 
corresponding  attitude.  Here  is  suggested 
a  wide  field  of  psychological  inquiiy  which 
we  cannot  enter  in  this  study.  We  may  only 
say  that  we  owe  to  the  faithful  interpretation 
of  our  sensations  any  real  knowledge  of  the 
objective  world. 


29 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF 
FEELINGS 

The  feelings  are  named  sensibilities  be- 
cause they  are  grounded  in  the  sensuous 
nature.  They  are  of  two  classes,  emotions 
and  aesthetics.  A  feeling  is  a  conscious  ex- 
citement or  commotion  of  the  soul.  We  are 
drawn  toward  an  object  that  we  have  an  ap- 
petence for;  we  are  drawn  away  from  that 
which  thwarts  the  appetence.  While  the 
feeling  begins  with  the  organic  impulse, 
exciting  the  nervous  centers,  the  mental  idea 
of  the  object  is  followed  by  psychic  action 
producing  soothing  or  exasperating  feelings. 
The  appetence,  which  is  instinctive  and 
spontaneous,  is  termed  a  "spring  of  action." 
It  is  a  mental  inclination  either  wholly 
organic  or  inherited.  For  instance,  every 
one  is  influenced  by  the  love  of  pleasure, 
which  is  wholly  without  choice.     It  is  only 

30 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  FEELINGS 

when  the  desire  seizes  upon  an  object  that 
it  takes  on  a  voluntary  character.  All  our 
natural  appetites  originate  in  the  organic, 
but  become  mental  and  crave  gratification 
for  the  pleasure  they  afford. 

Emotions  are  wholly  from  within,  such  as 
the  aesthetic  impulses  which  urge  us  to  seek 
and  delight  in  the  beautiful,  the  sublime,  the 
humorous,  the  picturesque,  and  which  in- 
spire our  taste  for  music,  art,  and  literature. 
The  moral  sense,  or  conscience,  is  also  in 
this  class.  Prospective  emotions  arise  from 
looking  forward  and  apprehending  some 
disaster  or  anticipating  some  good,  and  are 
the  ground  of  despair  or  hope. 

The  rise  of  the  aesthetic  emotions  is  an 
open  question.  Some  contend  that  beauty 
consists  in  some  qualities  existing  in  the 
object  contemplated.  Others  hold  that 
beauty  is  realized  by  some  peculiar  adapta- 
tion of  the  eye  in  the  act  of  perception.  Still 
others  maintain  that  the  idea  of  beauty  is 
furnished  by  the  association  of  ideas.  But, 
whatever  the  real  cause  of  beauty,  may  we 
not  say  that  there  is  in  the  psychic  nature  a 

31 


HUMAN  NATURE 

propension  for  harmony  of  lines  and  color, 
and  that  the  perception  of  harmonious  com- 
binations creates  the  idea  which  calls  out  the 
propension  ? 

The  feeling  of  sublimity  is  one  of  awe  or 
veneration.  While  it  is  called  out  from  the 
perception  of  some  majestic  object  like 
Niagara,  its  force  lies  in  the  apprehension 
of  an  Infinite  Power  which  is  manifest  in 
that  creation.  The  feeling  exalts  and  vivi- 
fies the  soul,  while  the  grander  facts  of  the 
moral  world  inspire  in  us  even  higher  de- 
grees of  sublimity. 

An  affection  is  the  going  out  of  the  soul 
toward  a  desirable  object,  with  a  wish  to 
possess  it.  It  is  characterized  by  a  perma- 
nence and  persistence  which  require  many 
rebuffs  to  break;  but  when  broken  the  re- 
action is  strong  and  bitter.  A  true  affection 
requires  reciprocal  action.  Love  calls  for 
love,  and  is  not  satisfied  unless  it  is  returned. 

In  its  communal  relations  human  nature 
has  its  sensibilities.  All  men  are  more  or 
less  swayed  by  the  feelings  of  others.  Pub- 
lic  sentiment  may   originate,   as   personal 

32 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  FEELINGS 

sentiment  does,  in  a  common  propension, 
kindling  a  common  enthusiasm  and  result- 
ing in  a  common  movement.  Take,  for  ex- 
ample, the  case  of  the  Civil  War  in  the 
United  States.  Seeds  of  opposition  were 
sown  on  both  sides,  producing  an  epidemic 
of  feeling ;  and  these  feelings  became  springs 
of  action,  producing  a  communal  hostility. 
To  understand  human  nature  one  needs  to 
study  the  affections  and  passions  that  play 
so  important  a  part  in  the  common  life. 
These  commotions  of  the  soul  often  appear 
in  groups  and  break  over  all  the  restraints 
of  sober  thought.  They  seem  to  sweep  on 
like  waves  of  the  sea,  or  to  burst  forth  like 
the  eruptions  of  a  volcano. 


33 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  VOLITIONAL  NATURE 

This  has  but  a  limited  range  of  activities. 
It  is  restricted  to  a  choice  of  motives.  What 
is  called  the  "will"  has  only  the  function  of 
determining  which  motive  the  soul  shall  fol- 
low in  voluntary  action.  But  the  word 
"choice"  implies  freedom  to  choose  from 
several  things,  and  also  implies  rejection  as 
well  as  adoption.  Aristotle  distinguishes 
between  "choice  of  ends,  choice  of  means, 
and  deliberate  preferences."  The  power  of 
choosing  voluntarily  may  be  increased  by 
practice  or  diminished  by  neglect ;  the  moral 
effect  of  choice  is  seen  in  the  formation  of 
character. 

The  discussion  concerning  the  freedom  of 
the  will  centers  in  the  question,  Do  motives 
sway  the  volition,  and  if  so,  how?  Are  they 
a  force  which  drives  to  action?  If  so,  there 
is  no  choice  in  the  matter.    Or  is  motive  an 

34 


THE  VOLITIONAL  NATURE 

intellectual  reason  why  we  should  act  in  a 
certain  manner?  If  we  so  say,  we  are  con- 
fronted with  the  fact  of  experience  that  we 
feel  something  behind  urging  the  reason 
upon  the  attention  of  the  soul.  Doctor 
McCosh,  in  his  Motive  Powers,  grounds  the 
motive  in  certain  appetencies  or  propensions 
that  are  organic  in  the  beginning  but  that 
become  psychic  in  their  activity.  Without 
following  his  classification  we  may  postulate 
self-love  as  the  all-containing  propension 
from  which  all  other  propensions  originate 
and  in  which  they  all  center.  This  is  an 
organic  propension  which  instinctively  seeks 
self-preservation.  It  is  essentially  necessary 
to  life,  but  when  gratified  to  excess  is  in- 
veterated  into  selfishness  and  perverts  the 
whole  being. 

But  a  second  element  is  necessary  to  com- 
plete the  motive;  it  needs  a  channel  per- 
mitting the  surging  propension  to  become 
action.  This  channel  is  furnished  in  the  in- 
tellectual idea  of  some  object  to  be  at- 
tained, which  gratifies  the  propension.  The 
union  of  the  two  elements  constitutes  the 

35 


HUMAN  NATURE 

motive  that  urges  its  attention  upon  the 
soul ;  and  the  choice  of  the  motive  determines 
the  action,  since  there  could  be  no  voluntary 
action  without  the  presence  of  different 
motives. 

The  essential  element  in  motivity  is 
choice.  Two  courses  are  open  to  us;  we 
choose  one  and  reject  the  other,  so  determin- 
ing to  act  in  one  way  and  not  in  another. 
But  why  do  we  so  determine?  We  call  the 
influencing  power  a  motive,  not  meaning  a 
force  of  any  kind  that  obliges  us  so  to  act, 
for  we  know  we  might  choose  another  way, 
but  feeling  there  is  something  which  urges 
that  way.  What  is  that  which  so  urges? 
The  philosophy  of  Jonathan  Edwards  an- 
swers that  the  motive  urging  our  choice  is 
stronger  than  any  other  and  that  we  feel 
obliged  by  the  strength  of  this  motive  to 
choose  the  course  we  do.  But  this  answer 
eliminates  all  free  choice;  and  if  there  be  no 
place  for  choice,  there  can  be  no  volition  in 
the  case,  no  deliberation  on  motives,  no  free 
determination.  But  we  do  know  that  we 
voluntarily  choose  between  several  courses 

36 


THE  VOLITIONAL  NATURE 

of  action,  after  deliberating  upon  them  and 
finally  adopting  one  and  rejecting  others. 

But  why  do  we  give  more  attention  to  one 
motive  than  to  another?  Because  the  pro- 
pension  urging  it  upon  our  attention  has 
been  gratified  more  than  others  and  so 
clamors  for  notice.  Our  propensions  grow 
by  gratification.  It  is  thinking  about  a  cer- 
tain course  of  action  that  gives  it  urgency. 
As  a  man  "thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he." 
One  becomes  immoral  by  thinking  of  im- 
moral acts.  When  he  stops  thinking  in  that 
direction  he  will  not  be  immoral  in  that 
direction.  Our  motives  become  persistent 
as  we  think  of  them ;  we  generally  give  more 
attention  to  what  clamors  for  recognition. 

It  is  claimed  by  some  psychologists  that 
there  are  many  instinctive  determinations 
which  have  been  preceded  by  no  delibera- 
tion. So  in  walking  each  step  is  the  effect 
of  determination  without  deliberation.  The 
trained  habit  of  muscular  action  becomes  so 
instinctive  that  we  have  no  consciousness  of 
a  choice.  By  this  distinction  between  in- 
stinctive and  voluntary  action  we  determine 

37 


HUMAN  NATURE 

the  value  of  human  conduct.  Motiveless 
action  carries  no  value,  and  the  man  who 
does  not  exercise  a  voluntary  choice  of 
motives  is  worthless  in  society. 


38 


CHAPTER  VII 

PSYCHOLOGY  OF  RATIONAL 
INTELLIGENCE 

Next  to  the  intuitional  is  the  intellectual 
power  of  human  nature.  This  depends 
largely  upon  the  healthy  condition  of  the 
body,  and  hence  modern  psychology  studies 
physiology.  Nothing  can  take  the  place  of 
a  sound  body  as  a  determining  factor  in  clear 
thought,  for  the  reason  that  the  nervous  sys- 
tem converts  the  muscular  action  into 
psychic.  The  mental  powers  sympathize 
with  the  physical.  A  great  hindrance  to 
mind  culture  is  a  poor  digestion  from  over- 
eating, while  intoxicants  paralyze  the  ner- 
vous centers  and  produce  a  coma  of  intel- 
lectual activities.  Most  mental  diseases 
come  from  nervous  disorders  or  from  want 
of  vitality.  Indeed,  a  large  majority  of 
immoral  volitions   arise   from  this   source. 

39 


HUMAN  NATURE 

Hygienic  rules  are  sound  rules  for  thought- 
making. 

A  second  step  in  the  care  of  the  intellect 
is  to  supervise  the  "gates  of  knowledge"  and 
watch  what  enters  through  them.  The  soul 
is  responsible  for  what  enters.  Through 
these  gates  all  the  raw  material  for  thought- 
making  is  received,  and  the  product  depends 
upon  the  quality  of  the  material  used.  To 
take  in  only  what  can  be  utilized  is  good 
advice  in  thought-building.  The  great  fault 
of  many  systems  of  education  is  in  not 
watching  the  quality  of  the  stimulating 
supply.  The  soul  needs  only  a  fair  chance 
to  grow  into  a  vigorous  mentality. 

The  most  important  fact  in  psychology  is 
to  keep  in  mind  the  prime  importance  of  a 
thought  habit.  The  thing  we  do  the  most 
often  we  do  the  easiest.  In  no  department 
of  our  being  is  this  more  true  than  in  the 
culture  of  the  intellect.  What  we  think  of 
most  habitually  we  follow  most  persistently ; 
and  the  converse  is  equally  true  that  what 
we  are  most  inclined  to  do  we  think  about 
most  constantly.     This  is  a  law  of  mental 

40 


RATIONAL  INTELLIGENCE 

reaction.  Hence  the  necessity  that  the  soul 
command  its  thoughts.  The  first  step  in 
forming  a  thought  habit  is  concentration. 
The  flitting  thoughts  that  like  birds  fly  in 
and  out  must  be  caught ;  this  is  not  easy,  but 
persistent  trying  will  accomplish  it.  If  one 
has  sufficient  mastery  of  himself  to  put  aside 
an  undesirable  thought  and  substitute  an- 
other, he  has  gained  possession  of  the  situa- 
tion. "The  key  to  every  man,"  said  Emer- 
son, "is  his  thought."  We  have  the  law. 
Are  we  willing  to  pay  the  price  of  obedience 
to  it? 

The  great  word  in  the  development  of  the 
intellect  is  "culture."  For  a  definition  of 
the  term  we  turn  to  Huxley,  that  clearest 
teacher  of  intellectual  growth.  He  says  that 
"a  criticism  of  life  is  the  essence  of  culture." 
Then,  to  explain  what  he  means  by  a  "crit- 
icism of  life,"  he  adds:  "Culture  certainly 
means  something  quite  different  from  learn- 
ing or  technical  skill.  It  implies  the  posses- 
sion of  an  ideal  and  the  habit  of  estimating 
the  value  of  things  by  a  comparison  with  a 
theoretic  standard.    Perfect  culture  should 

41 


HUMAN  NATURE 

apply  a  complete  theory  of  life,  based  upon 
a  clear  knowledge  alike  of  its  possibilities 
and  its  limitations.  Literature  alone  cannot 
supply  this  knowledge.  We  may  leam  all 
that  Greek  and  Roman  and  Eastern  antiq- 
uity have  thought  and  said,  and  after  all 
that  modern  literature  has  to  tell  us,  and 
be  destitute  of  that  culture  necessary  to 
understand  human  life.  A  full  outfit  for  the 
work  of  human  life  must  include  a  knowl- 
edge of  physical  science — a  power  to  prove 
the  properties  of  literature  by  scientific 
analysis.  A  literary  education  will  furnisn 
the  data  of  knowledge,  but  science  only  can 
give  the  power  to  rightly  use  that  data." 

The  grand  end  of  culture,  then,  is  to 
develop  the  human  intellect  to  a  degree  of 
power  that  the  soul  can  use  for  the  purposes 
of  real  life. 

Knowledge  is  not  transferred  from  one  to 
another,  or  from  books  in  a  finished  block, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  the  result  of  a  con- 
structive process  of  the  intellect.  In  this 
process  of  thought-making  the  intellect 
borrows  both  from  intuition  and  the  emo- 

42 


RATIONAL  INTELLIGENCE 

tions.  Many  brilliant  images  credited  to  the 
intellectual  processes  come  from  the  intui- 
tional realm,  while  ideas  that  hold  attention 
come  also  from  the  emotional  side  of  our 
nature.  The  main  thing  is  that  the  personal 
self  shall  be  master  of  his  thoughts.  Strength 
of  intellect  can  only  be  acquired  from  habit- 
ual training.  A  certain  painter  had  so  dis- 
ciplined himself  to  concentrated  attention 
that  he  required  but  one  sitting  of  his  sub- 
ject. Then,  with  a  perfect  mental  picture 
of  his  subject,  he  painted  the  details  on  the 
canvas.  Psychological  drudgery  will  re- 
ward one  with  great  results.  Herein  lies 
genius,  because  genius  is  born  in  the  travail 
of  thought. 


43 


Ill 

ANTHROPOLOGY 


Every  ethnic  builds  its  civilization  around 
its  religion  and  its  language. — Mutter. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  HUMAN 
NATURE 

Anthropology  is  the  science  of  human 
nature  considered  in  groups  and  nations. 
The  common  facts  of  a  people  form  a 
psychic  character.  There  is  always  a  sort 
of  system  of  ideas  producing  certain  traits 
or  characteristics  in  a  race  or  nation.  So,  if 
we  would  comprehend  the  entirety  of 
humanity,  we  must  observe  those  fundamen- 
tal principles  which  are  common  to  human- 
ity in  general,  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  know 
them. 

There  are  three  distinct  factors  that  con- 
tribute to  the  development  of  human  nature, 
namely,  race,  environment,  and  epoch. 
Observe,  for  example,  the  Aryan  or  Semitic 
races.  After  centuries  of  change  they  show 
a  community  of  blood  which  binds  them  to- 
gether in  racial  unity.     Environment  also 

47 


HUMAN  NATURE 

lays  hold  of  a  man  as  soon  as  he  is  born.  He 
is  obliged  to  submit  to  the  conditions  of  his 
birth,  and  personally  acquires  a  social  char- 
acter and  temperament.  So  also  he  is  born 
in  those  conditions  of  time,  without  his 
choice,  that  constitute  an  order  of  life  for 
him.  These  combined  forces  produce  a  type 
of  human  nature  for  that  tribe  or  nation. 

But  there  are  two  special  factors  which 
work  with  great  influence  among  all  classes 
— religion  and  language.  Taine,  in  his  His- 
tory of  English  Literature,  presents  a 
psychological  map  of  the  development  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race  which  may  stand  as 
a  type  of  the  development  of  all  races.  The 
primary  causes  that  wrought  in  the  civiliza- 
tion of  England  and  of  all  English-speaking 
nations  have  shaped  the  character  of  all  peo- 
ples. The  furious  Jutes,  those  pirates  of  a 
man-hunting  kind,  made  murder  not  only  a 
trade  but  a  pastime.  Viking  chiefs  who 
never  slept  under  a  peaceful  roof  laughed  at 
Waves  and  storms.  The  blasts  of  the  tempest 
aided  their  oars,  and  the  hurricane  was  their 
servant.    "We  hewed  with  our  swords,"  sang 

48 


DEVELOPMENT 

an  old  song.  One  may  wonder  that  after 
four  thousand  years  human  nature  was  still 
in  this  gross  barbarism.  Were  there  no 
races  that  had  risen  above  it?  The  surviving 
fragments  of  ancient  literature  hint  at  the 
rise  and  fall  of  many  nations  which  had 
reached  a  high  state  of  civilization;  and  in 
English  history  are  shown  the  causes  that 
worked  in  the  case  of  all  races.  Let  us 
briefly  trace  this  process  of  development. 

The  Saxon  conquest  brought  in  from  Ger- 
many new  blood  and  new  culture.  Saxon 
ideas  and  heroics,  Saxon  earnestness  and 
love  of  order  blended  with  the  grosser  British 
temper.  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  found 
a  people  already  predisposed  to  receive 
their  doctrines.  Caedmon,  their  poet,  sang 
the  praise  of  the  new  God  from  a  strong 
though  barbarous  heart.  He  was  the  father 
of  English  Christian  poetry,  in  which  was 
blended  pagan  imagery.  In  1066  the  Nor- 
man invasion  set  up  a  new  order  of  social 
life.  A  new  style  of  literature  took  the 
place  of  the  coarse  and  abrupt  Saxon  poetry. 
The   Saxon  poets  had  painted  war   as   a 


49 


HUMAN  NATURE 

murderous  fury,  but  the  Norman  poets 
made  it  a  tourney.  Though  the  root  re- 
mained Saxon,  the  old  Saxon  became  Nor- 
manized.  This  compromise  represented  a 
new  type  of  mind,  and  became  the  founda- 
tion of  modern  English.  While  the  riotous 
spirit  of  the  age  was  later  in  constant  con- 
flict with  clergy  and  government,  and  while 
Robin  Hood  with  his  band  of  cutthroats  was 
the  hero  of  the  populace,  the  seeds  of  the 
Reformation  were  being  sown.  Wickliffe 
appears  and  translates  the  Bible  from  the 
Latin  Vulgate  into  the  old  Saxon  English, 
and  the  new  tongue  was  soon  the  established 
speech  of  the  people. 

Geoffrey  Chaucer  became  the  founder  of 
English  poetry  and,  indeed,  the  real  founder 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  language.  Human 
nature  gained  many  degrees  in  psychological 
activity.  The  Canterbury  Tales  exhibit  not 
only  the  art  of  Chaucer  but  more  espe- 
cially the  plain  common  sense  of  the  English 
mind  and  its  aptitude  for  subjective  thought. 
Chaucer  is  on  the  brink  of  a  new  psychologi- 
cal discovery.    Living  two  centuries  before 

50 


DEVELOPMENT 

the  days  of  Elizabeth,  yet  he  is  in  close 
affinity  with  the  poets  of  her  age.  Then 
scholastic  philosophy,  like  a  worm  in  fruit, 
ate  out  the  heart  of  literature,  and  religion 
that  had  been  a  warm  stream  of  life  con- 
gealed into  a  hard  crystal. 

But  the  dawn  of  a  Renaissance  broke.  It 
began  to  shine  in  the  days  of  Elizabeth.  The 
War  of  the  Roses  had  ended;  peace  rested 
on  England.  Printing  was  discovered;  the 
mariner's  compass  had  led  to  the  discovery 
of  the  American  continent;  commerce  de- 
veloped; the  name  of  "merrie  England" 
became  familiar;  classic  literature  was 
studied;  the  philosophy  of  Francis  Bacon 
began  to  dominate  the  ideas  of  scholars.  An 
age  of  poetic  idealism  commenced,  a  very 
efflorescence  of  poetic  vitality,  led  by  Sur- 
rey, Sidney,  and  Spenser.  Then  the  Renais- 
sance found  its  level  in  intellectual  facts;  a 
new  class  of  thinkers,  such  as  Burton  and  a 
host  of  others,  took  the  field;  and  Ben  John- 
son heralded  the  coming  of  that  mighty 
dramatic  genius,  Shakespeare. 

All  others  sink  into  insignificance  in  com- 

51 


HUMAN  NATURE 

parison  with  him.  What  produced  him? 
We  must  put  the  emphasis  on  his  environ- 
ment. The  age  he  lived  in  made  him.  That 
is  to  say,  the  remarkable  capacities  he  in- 
herited as  potences  were  developed  by  his 
environment.  He  would  have  been  an  im- 
possible product  in  any  prior  age.  No  one 
makes  himself;  no  one  can  develop  his 
capacities  alone.  So  Shakespeare  stands  as 
the  exponent  of  the  possibilities  of  his  age. 
One  has  only  to  read  the  record  of  his  life, 
his  social  career,  as  given  in  the  brief  notes 
of  his  friends  concerning  him,  to  be  con- 
vinced of  this  fact.  But  he  was  prophetic 
of  a  higher  and  better  age  that  was  to  suc- 
ceed. His  inventive  genius  created  an  ideal 
world  that  far  transcended  his  age.  He 
thought  and  talked  its  language.  It  seemed 
a  dream  at  the  time,  but  human  nature  has 
since  realized  it. 

So  all  this  literary  development  was  a 
stage  in  the  evolution  of  human  nature.  Its 
religious  capacities  kept  pace  with  the  in- 
tellectual, and  through  the  same  process  of 
culture.    By  slow  advances,  with  many  set- 

52 


DEVELOPMENT 

backs,  the  English  race  was  waiting  for  the 
full  tide.  In  English  history  religion  is 
seen  to  gain  its  freedom  from  traditional 
enslavement  through  the  evolving  power  of 
culture.  And  this  culture  made  possible  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers  and  prepared  the  way  for 
American  liberty.  So  the  literature  of  the 
English  people  epitomizes  the  evolution  of 
human  nature  from  its  racial  beginnings,  as 
we  may  see  from  a  study  of  the  fragments 
of  racial  literature. 


53 


CHAPTER  IX 
ORIENTAL  PSYCHOLOGY 

The  philosophy  of  human  life  can  only 
be  learned  from  the  philosophy  of  its  his- 
tory. Mere  historic  data  give  no  knowledge 
of  the  mentality  of  the  actors.  Why  did  the 
men  of  history  act  as  they  did?  What  did 
they  think  of  human  life?  What  were  the 
mental  processes  by  which  they  formed  their 
conclusions?  And  what  was  the  relation  of 
their  intuitional  action  to  their  intellectual? 
We  shall  expect  to  find  their  mental  make- 
up in  the  record  of  their  living.  The 
philosophy  of  their  lives  may  largely  be  in- 
ferred from  their  recorded  actions. 

To  get  into  the  inner  life  of  a  people  of  the 
past  we  are  limited  to  the  fragments  of 
literature  that  have  survived  the  "siftings  of 
time."     But  these   fragments  are  records 

54 


ORIENTAL  PSYCHOLOGY 

only  of  the  objective  side  of  life.  The  few 
glimpses  they  give  us  of  the  inner  life  of  the 
ancients  show  how  little  men  knew  of  them- 
selves and  how  little  thought  they  gave  to 
the  "inner  springs  of  action."  Turning  to 
these  fragments  of  history,  and  following  as 
far  as  possible  the  chronological  order  of  de- 
velopment, we  notice : 

1.  The  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Assy- 
ria. These  are  found  on  clay  tablets  dug 
from  the  mounds  of  that  Eastern  land. 
They  afford  a  literature  older  than  any 
other,  and  carry  us  back  to  at  least  B.  C. 
3000.  They  contain  an  epic  relating  to  the 
exploits  of  Izdubar,  his  conquest  of  Erich, 
his  rule  over  it,  as  king,  and  his  love  adven- 
tures with  Ishta,  the  goddess  of  love.  He  is 
intensely  religious,  his  piety  being  intuitive 
rather  than  inspired  by  theological  beliefs. 
His  psychic  intuitions  are  especially  mani- 
fest in  his  apprehension  of  the  constant 
presence  in  his  life  of  spiritual  beings.  A 
translation  in  verse  of  the  overthrow  of 
Erich  and  Ishta's  lament  show  the  pathos  of 
the  writer  and  the  anguish  of  Ishta: 

55 


HUMAN  NATURE 

O  Erich,  dear  Erich,  my  beautiful  home, 
Accadia's  pride,  bright  land  of  the  bard, 

Come  back  to  my  vision,  dear  Erich,  O  come, 
Fair  land  of  my  birth,  how  thy  beauty  is 
marred ! 

From  this  poem  and  from  numerous  in- 
scriptions we  infer  that  the  Accadians  were 
largely  developed  in  intuitive  experience 
and  made  much  of  the  inner  life. 

2.  The  Five  Classics  of  China.  These 
are  claimed  by  some  Oriental  writers  to  be 
older  than  the  clay  tablets  of  Assyria.  In 
these  ancient  literary  productions  is  set 
forth  the  range  of  thought  of  the  Chinese. 
The  oldest  of  the  books  recognize  a  divine 
Personality,  while  the  later  writings  ignore 
all  reference  to  Deity.  Not  to  act  is  the 
secret  of  all  power.  By  not  acting  one 
identifies  himself  with  Tao.  The  mentality 
that  can  satisfy  itself  with  contradictions 
must  be  sadly  atrophied.  The  evidence  is 
clear  that  the  mental  growth  of  the  Chinese, 
like  its  language,  was  arrested  in  the  early 
days  of  their  history. 

3.  The  Hindu  Psychology.    This  is  most 

56 


ORIENTAL  PSYCHOLOGY 

difficult  to  understand.  It  is  a  vast  world 
of  ideas,  with  no  unity.  It  is  an  intellectual 
cult,  but  is  principally  concerned  with  its 
intuitive  conceptions.  Every  mental  activ- 
ity seems  centered  in  its  intuitions,  not  only 
for  the  verification  of  intellectual  conclu- 
sions but  as  an  end.  The  Hindus  have  a 
rich  literature,  but  no  historic  annals.  Their 
philosophy  is  acute,  but  is  associated  with 
the  coarsest  superstitions.  An  ultra  one- 
sided idealism  governs  all  thought.  "There 
is  nothing  but  God"  is  the  text  of  all  reason- 
ing. To  reach  Nirvana,  with  the  loss  of  per- 
sonal identity  and  responsibility,  is  the  end 
of  human  life.  Buddhism  is  a  revolt  of  the 
Indian  mind  from  this  paralysis  of  the  in- 
tellect. Its  supreme  belief  is  in  the  infinite 
capacity  of  the  soul.  The  meaning  of 
"Buddha"  is  "the  Intelligent  One."  Eman- 
cipation from  change  and  decay  is  by  intui- 
tive knowledge,  and  this  knowledge  is  to  be 
attained  by  introspection  and  purity  of  life. 
The  system  is,  of  course,  of  mental  training. 
Man  becomes  by  this  training  everything  in 
his   psychic  nature,   and   God  is  nothing. 

57 


HUMAN  NATURE 

Religion  is  pure  morality,  and  the  chief 
article  of  faith  is  "Karma,"  which  means 
that  every  act  done  in  one  life  entails  its  re- 
sults in  another. 

4.  The  Zend-Avesta  of  the  Persians. 
Here  we  find  a  psychology  based  on  the 
conception  of  an  eternal  conflict  between 
right  and  wrong  as  two  principles  of  human 
nature.  The  contest  engages  all  the  powers. 
All  mental  activities  are  objective  in  con- 
sciousness, and  but  little  attention  is  given 
to  intuitive  experience.  Herodotus  says  of 
this  people:  "The  Persians  have  no  altars, 
no  temples;  they  worship  on  the  tops  of 
mountains;  they  adore  the  heavens,  and 
sacrifice  to  the  sun."  They  represent  by  the 
name  of  Ormuzd  the  principle  of  good,  and 
by  the  name  of  Ahriman,  the  principle  of 
evil.  This  dualism  confuses  the  mind  in  its 
canvass  of  the  question  of  responsibility,  and 
cuts  away  the  foundations  of  human  free- 
dom. 

5.  The  Literature  of  Egypt.  This  indi- 
cates a  wide  intellectual  activity.  Egypt 
was  early  renowned  for  its  discoveries  in  art 

58 


ORIENTAL  PSYCHOLOGY 

and  science.  It  was  the  world's  university, 
where  Moses  and  Pythagoras  and  Plato 
studied.  It  witnessed  the  greatest  mental 
activity  of  any  age  of  human  life  till  its 
time.  Every  event  was  written  down,  so 
that  we  have  preserved  in  writing  the  daily 
habits  and  manner  of  life  of  forty-five  cen- 
turies. "Everything,"  says  Maury,  "took 
the  stamp  of  religion."  But  their  religion 
was  represented  by  symbols,  and  these  were 
interpreted  by  a  sensuous  intellect.  Hence 
their  psychic  study  was  from  the  intellectual 
viewpoint;  their  intuitions  were  not  taken 
into  account.  They  offered  prayers  for  the 
dead  because  they  thought  their  dead  needed 
help.  Their  psychic  conceptions  made  their 
theology.  Their  divinities  were  concrete 
personalities  because  they  thought  in  con- 
crete symbols.  Nature  as  the  objective 
manifestations  of  Deity  held  their  attention 
and  objectified  their  conceptions. 

6.  The  Hebrew  Literature.  This  people 
built  their  civilization  on  the  conception  of 
the  unity  of  Deity.  That  conception  was  re- 
ceived from  Abraham,  the  founder  of  their 

59 


HUMAN  NATURE 

race,  who  had  cultivated  his  religious  capac- 
ity to  the  degree  of  apprehending  a  per- 
sonal Divine  Presence  in  his  life.  This  view 
he  so  fully  enforced  upon  his  posterity  that 
it  became  a  forming  force  in  the  make-up 
of  their  national  mentality.  Their  mental 
activity  was  largely  intuitive;  they  lived 
mostly  in  the  subjective  realm,  and  conse- 
quently were  open  to  the  divine  manifesta- 
tions. This  monotheistic  conception  not  only 
ruled  their  moral  conduct  but  was  also  the 
formative  factor  in  molding  their  thinking. 
For  four  hundred  years  it  grew  into  their 
racial  life  so  deeply  that  no  polytheistic  en- 
vironment could  erase  it.  When  the  Israel- 
ites organized  their  national  life  under  the 
leadership  of  Moses  this  conception,  which 
had  become  a  settled  habit  of  thought,  took 
on  an  objective  form.  This  was  doubtless 
partly  due  to  the  Egyptian  education  of 
Moses,  who  was  trained  to  the  objective  ex- 
pression of  thought,  but  principally  because 
with  a  national  regimen  it  became  necessary 
to  express  their  thought  in  formal  symbols. 
Their    divinities    were    now    conceived    as 

60 


ORIENTAL  PSYCHOLOGY 

bodily  personalities  because  they  had  become 
accustomed  to  think  in  concrete  symbols. 
Natural  forms  held  their  attention  and  ob- 
jectified their  conceptions.  Whatever  the 
facts  in  the  case,  in  Hebrew  literature  He- 
brew thought  is  expressed  in  material  sym- 
bols. They  had  not  learned  to  think  in 
terms  of  spiritual  imagery.  But  in  the 
reigns  of  David  and  Solomon  there  came  a 
renaissance.  The  poets  and  seers  of  that 
age  became  acquainted  with  the  intuitive 
realm  and  were  able  to  think  in  spiritual 
terms,  though  the  poverty  of  human  lan- 
guage required  the  use  of  material  symbols, 
as  will  perhaps  always  be  the  case.  The  He- 
brew poetry  is  the  language  of  the  inner  life 
of  the  people.  In  this  the  poet  expressed  his 
intuitive  conceptions  of  reality.  Into  this 
intuitive  realm  the  seer  also  enters  to  re- 
ceive his  message  by  divine  suggestion,  and 
translates  that  message  into  the  idiomatic 
language  of  his  time.  In  this  Hebrew 
renaissance  is  given  a  hint  of  the  gradual 
development  of  intuitive  mentality. 


61 


CHAPTER  X 

WESTERN  MENTALITY 

Contemporary  with  Judaism  on  the 
border  of  Europe  began  a  system  of  thought 
that  strove  to  do  for  the  Aryan  race  what 
religious  thought  was  doing  for  the  Semitic. 
But  while  Hebrew  thought  began  and  cen- 
tered in  a  monotheistic  conception  of  Deity, 
the  Greeks  started  from  material  nature. 
The  four  primary  elements,  earth,  air,  water, 
and  fire,  contained  the  original,  immutable 
substance  out  of  which  all  things  proceeded. 
Man  was  an  integral  part  of  the  material 
universe  and  subject  to  the  same  laws. 
Hence  the  human  mind  must  be  constructed 
on  the  same  plan  as  the  universe.  A  cosmic 
philosophy,  with  mind  as  material  "stuff" 
or  substance,  was  the  original  theory.  But, 
as  intelligence  must  transcend  the  raw 
material,  the  very  exercise  of  thinking  drove 
man  up  out  of  the  material  order.  The 
Sophists  abandoned  the  old  Eleatic  founda- 

62 


WESTERN  MENTALITY 

tion  and  found  in  man  "the  measure  of  all 
things."  This  was  an  advance,  yet  it  was 
but  a  day's  journey.  It  left  all  things  as  the 
sport  of  chance;  something  more  immutable 
than  changing  man  must  be  the  measure  of 
life. 

Socrates  sought  for  the  stable  in  the  inner 
life  of  man.  He  was  not  satisfied  to  take  the 
changing  opinions  of  men  as  the  measure  of 
human  life.  He  thought  he  had  found  the 
immutable,  unchanging  reality  in  the  intui- 
tive axioms  of  the  soul,  which  was  the  su- 
preme arbiter  of  all  thought.  This  opened  a 
new  and  higher  view  of  life.  The  world  of 
sensuous  perception  that  had  ruled  the  men- 
tal activities  of  past  ages  retreated  more  and 
more  from  view,  and  a  world  of  intuitive 
perception  took  its  place.  Soul  became  the 
essence  of  being;  consciousness  became  the 
organ  of  knowledge.  While  reality  was 
composed  of  essence,  yet  reality  had  thrown 
off  its  material  dress. 

This  essence  Plato  called  the  "idea." 
Here  was  a  discovery  that  there  was  a  realm 
of  reality  beyond  the  opinions  of  men.    The 

63 


HUMAN  NATURE 

standard  of  measurement  was  now  shifted 
from  the  outer  to  the  inner  man.  But  the 
soul  had  not  yet  escaped  from  the  fatalistic 
embrace  of  materiality.  For,  while  Plato 
saw  truth  only  in  an  entire  separation  of  the 
idea  from  form,  Aristotle  insisted  that  being 
and  its  form  were  inseparable.  The  spirit, 
in  his  view,  must  not  only  have  its  clothing, 
but  they  were  one;  the  body  is  the  supreme 
master  of  the  soul ;  intuition  is  nothing  with- 
out intellect  to  express  it ;  the  soul  has  no  ex- 
istence separate  from  the  body.  A  material 
psychology  grew  out  of  this  philosophy. 
Mentality  became  materialized  and  lost  all 
worth  as  pure  thought;  sensuous  perception 
was  the  only  road  to  knowledge. 

In  Plato  the  intuitional  world  was  again 
brought  to  view.  The  inner  life  burst  the 
barriers  that  had  suppressed  it,  and  was  set 
free  to  apprehend  a  divine  association.  But 
the  reaction  became  extreme.  Other- 
worldliness  was  accentuated.  The  super- 
natural became  a  mighty  force  in  human 
thought.  To  experience  a  mystic  union  with 
the  Divine  was  reckoned  the  greatest  good. 

64 


WESTERN  MENTALITY 

Still,  this  was  not  the  Christianity  even  of 
that  day.  It  was  the  old  subordination  of 
man  to  the  universe.  What  the  age  wanted 
and  what  it  must  have  to  completely  fill  its 
longing  was  the  creation  of  a  distinctively 
new  world  of  reality  and  ethical  values. 

Christianity  entered  human  life  for  one 
purpose — to  create  this  new  world  by  re- 
generating the  inner  life  of  man.  Its  prin- 
cipal function  was  and  is  to  introduce  new 
and  better  "springs  of  action"  in  human 
nature  and  to  furnish  a  permanent  bond  of 
union  in  the  social  life.  The  first  part  of  this 
work  is  the  divine  energizing  of  the  religious 
capacity  of  the  soul;  the  latter  is  the  divine 
ideal  of  human  perfection  set  forth  as  an 
absolute  standard  of  human  conduct.  This 
work  of  inward  culture  Jesus  commenced 
and  carried  on  during  his  ministry.  The 
essence  of  his  teachings  was  the  establish- 
ment of  a  new  order  of  society  which  he 
named  "the  kingdom  of  God."  The  begin- 
ning of  this  new  order  was  the  rectification 
of  the  intuitive  nature  by  introducing  the 

leavening  energy  of  the  Divine  Presence. 

-  65 


HUMAN  NATURE 

By  its  own  power  this  leaven  would  correct 
and  direct  the  whole  outward  conduct  of  each 
individual  who  accepted  it;  and  from  this 
would  radiate  a  power  to  unify  society. 
Thus  human  nature  takes  on  a  new  order  of 
life  and  puts  itself  under  a  new  law  of  living. 
This  new  teaching  of  Jesus  must  be  put  to 
the  test  of  critical  analysis.  The  human  soul, 
enlightened  by  its  inward  regeneration,  de- 
mands to  know  the  grounds  of  this  new  faith. 
So  Christian  philosophy,  under  the  bias  of 
Greek  thought,  undertook  this  analysis. 
Origen  began  a  speculative  search  for  the 
grounds  of  Christian  faith.  The  reality  of 
Christ's  teaching,  he  assumed  is  "in  the  es- 
sence of  the  ideas  he  taught."  It  is  not 
realized  in  his  language  itself;  it,  rather,  in- 
heres in  the  ethical  greatness  and  influence 
of  his  ideas.  Origen's  theology  so  prevailed 
that,  according  to  Harnack,  "the  history  of 
dogma  and  of  the  church  during  the  follow- 
ing centuries  is  in  the  Orient  the  history  of 
Origen's  philosophy."  To  Gregory  of 
Nyssa  was  due  the  formulation  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity.    The  growing  influence 

66 


WESTERN  MENTALITY 

of  the  Latin  element  in  Christianity  led 
gradually  to  the  ecclesiastical  system  of 
church  organization.  Augustine,  in  his  The 
City  of  God,  demolished  the  anthropomor- 
phic conception  of  God;  but  in  order  to  do 
that  he  must  destroy  the  idea  of  the  theo- 
morphism  of  man ;  and  to  emphasize  both  he 
must  make  clear  the  antithesis.  To  utterly 
separate  God  from  man,  except  as  he  reveals 
himself  in  language,  is  to  place  him  as  a 
transcendent  Sovereign  wholly  outside  this 
creation,  and  so  entirely  separate  from  man. 
This  conception  is  Platonic,  and  makes  God 
the  reality  of  an  idea  only;  but  from  this 
conception  Augustine  worked  out  a  theo- 
logical fatalism  that  has  more  or  less  domi- 
nated the  religious  thought  of  all  the  sub- 
sequent ages.  Anselm,  in  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, formulated  out  of  the  philosophy  of 
Augustine  what  is  called  the  doctrine  of 
"atonement,"  which  was  an  attempt  to  show 
why  God  has  done  for  a  few  of  the  human 
race  what  he  has  always  done  for  all  man- 
kind. During  all  the  Middle  Ages  the 
Mystics  maintained  alive  pure  religion  be- 

67 


HUMAN  NATURE 

cause  they  avoided  all  speculative  theology 
and  kept  their  thought  within  the  realm  of 
intuitive  experience.  They  cultivated  the  re- 
ligious capacity  by  feeding  the  inner  life 
with  the  intuitive  revelations  of  God.  By 
this  means  they  reduced  religion  to  a  mys- 
ticism without  sufficient  rational  ground  for 
thought,  while  the  psychology  of  religion 
was  limited  to  intuitive  experience  alone. 
But  that  experience  was  a  mighty  force  in 
human  life  which  waited  for  some  qualified 
leader  to  guide  it  out  into  action. 


68 


CHAPTER  XI 

MODERN  PSYCHOLOGY 

With  the  coming  of  Sir  Francis  Bacon 
there  dawns  a  new  psychological  world.  A 
blind  reverence  for  the  past  because  it  is  old 
no  longer  holds  the  mind  in  subjection.  But 
the  break  is  more  than  a  separation;  it  in- 
volves a  new  creation,  a  new  system  of 
thought  based  upon  the  absolute  freedom  of 
the  will.  Reality  is  no  longer  deduced  from 
hypothesis'  but  is  discovered  lying  in  the 
facts  of  life,  and  when  induced  passes  the 
test  of  experience.  Bacon's  aphorism, 
"Knowledge  is  power,"  comes  from  the  fact 
that  knowledge  is  intuitive  experience. 
Then  awakens  the  spirit  of  discovery  and  in- 
vention. Kepler  and  Galileo  map  a  new 
heavens ;  the  invention  of  the  mariner's  com- 
pass opens  the  way  for  the  discovery  of  a 
new  continent.  Human  nature  waits  for  a 
leader  to  publish  the  larger  thought. 

69 


HUMAN  NATURE 

SucK  a  leader  appears  in  the  person  of 
Descartes.  He  is  the  father  of  a  self -inter- 
preting psychology,  which  bases  itself  in  the 
constitutional  capacity  of  intuitive  insight 
clothed  in  the  form  of  intellectual  reason. 
Here  is  made  clear  the  fact  that  the  soul  is 
conscious  activity  and  that  this  activity  is 
self -centered  because  it  is  always  rounding 
back  upon  itself.  Human  nature  acquires 
an  autonomy  and  an  independence  by  its 
endowment  with  freedom.  This  Cartesian 
conception  of  the  soul  is  the  beginning  of  the 
new  world  of  thought.  Religion  felt  the 
effect  of  this  discovery,  for  in  the  inner  self 
there  was  an  immediate  human  and  divine 
communion.  Pascal  voices  this  conscious- 
ness when  he  says :  "If  you  ever  find  God, 
you  will  find  him  in  your  soul;  and  what  a 
communion  is  set  up  when  the  discovery  is 
made  I" 

Another  effect  of  this  autonomy  of  human 
nature  is  the  transference  of  the  basis  of 
ethics  from  theology  to  psychology.  It,  for 
instance,  rejects  the  authority  of  tradition 
and  builds  upon  intuitive  knowledge ;  it  turns 

70 


MODERN  PSYCHOLOGY 

from  the  motives  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments  to  the  reward  lying  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  right  doing.  The  economical 
view  of  ethical  conduct  rising  from  this 
theory  is  set  forth  by  Adam  Smith,  who  looks 
upon  life  from  its  objective  side,  who  makes 
the  senses  the  basis  of  living,  and  who  leaves 
out  of  consideration  the  inner  springs  of 
action.  But  this  sensuous  view  of  life, 
which  grounded  itself  in  the  autonomy  of 
human  nature,  contained  too  much  of  bald 
intellectualism  to  satisfy  the  spiritual  wants 
of  the  soul. 

A  return  to  a  more  subjective  view  of  life 
originated  with  Kant.  He  strives  to  find  a 
new  basis  of  morality.  Instead  of  our  ideas 
conforming  to  objective  things,  things 
should  conform  to  our  ideas  of  them.  That 
is  to  say,  we  should  know  things  only  as  they 
enter  into  our  thought  and  intuition.  The 
great  advance  made  by  the  movement  was 
in  the  changing  of  reality  from  object  to 
subject.  Man  is  no  longer  merely  a  part  of 
a  system  that  holds  him  in  bondage,  but  he 
is  the  system  itself.    From  him  as  a  center 

71 


HUMAN  NATURE 

proceed  tKe  laws  that  direct  his  life.  He 
himself  is  the  world-builder  of  thought  and 
experience. 

The  secret  of  Hegel's  power  is  in  combin- 
ing a  right  system  of  thought  with  a  wealth 
of  intuition;  and  the  value  of  that  combina- 
tion is  that  it  is  made  to  serve  the  interests 
of  a  social  democracy.  But  the  tragedies  of 
human  life  keep  in  constant  view  its  con- 
tradictions. Human  experience  has  to  do 
with  objective  realities.  One  cannot  get 
away  from  his  physical  conditions ;  the  work- 
shop is  his  place.  Hence  realism  assumes 
the  direction  of  living;  life  takes  on  an  ob- 
jective attitude,  and  limits  thought  to  the 
world  of  immediate  observation.  Mill  and 
Spencer  are  the  apostles  of  the  nineteenth 
century  realism.  The  intuitions  are  sub- 
merged beneath  the  cold  intellectualism  of 
the  times. 

The  doctrine  of  evolution  as  it  came  from 
the  brain  of  Darwin  and  Spencer  was  an  at- 
tempt to  fasten  human  nature  in  the  grasp 
of  material  realism.  Nature,  that  in  the  past 
had  been  known  as  a  cosmos  under  the  regi- 

72 


MODERN  PSYCHOLOGY 

men  of  a  divinely  personal  supervision,  was 
suddenly  surrendered  to  a  blind  force  im- 
personal and  unknowable.  Thought,  that 
had  claimed  an  autonomy  of  direction,  must 
now  submit  to  a  "natural  selection"  that 
acknowledged  no  Selector.  Human  nature, 
that  had  formerly  looked  for  direction  to  a 
divine  Manager,  must  now  look  to  the  law 
of  the  "survival  of  the  fittest."  Now,  this 
doctrine,  whether  scientific  or  not,  is  one  that 
human  nature  has  no  great  interest  in,  for, 
by  this  theor3r,  the  inner  life  has  no  value; 
the  only  right  is  the  might  of  the  strongest 
to  "survive  the  struggle  of  life."  But  the 
doctrine  had  in  it  a  worm  of  destruction, 
when  Spencer  admitted  that  there  is  "an 
eternal  Energy  by  which  all  things  consist." 
This  admission  is  recognized  by  John  Fiske, 
the  modern  expounder  of  Spencer's  philos- 
ophy. In  his  revision  of  the  doctrine  he 
puts  in  the  place  of  a  "blind  force"  a  per- 
sonal, eternal  Energy,  which  he  declares  may 
be  named  God.  This  restores  rationality  to 
the  doctrine  and  makes  it  harmonize  with 
experience. 

73 


HUMAN  NATURE 

A  more  rational  solution  of  human  life  is 
found  in  giving  cosmic  nature  a  spiritual 
basis,  making  it  part  of  a  larger  system  of 
which  the  psychic  is  the  head.  The  psychic 
is  such  an  indisputable  part  of  experience 
that  its  claim  to  primacy  cannot  be  ignored. 
Besides,  every  system  of  materialism  car- 
ries the  worm  of  its  own  destruction  in  itself". 
Nothing  satisfies  human  nature  that  does 
not  stand  the  test  of  experience;  when  the 
events  of  a  purely  material  life  fail  in  the 
test,  the  system  itself  fails. 

Several  causes  have  combined  to  revive 
the  spirit  of  idealism.  One  is  that  the  soul 
instinctively  rejects  a  purely  utilitarian 
theory  of  morality.  The  personal  advantage 
in  living  a  moral  life  is  not  a  sufficient 
answer  to  the  question,  Why  should  I  be 
moral?  Another  cause  is  a  growing  tend- 
ency to  organize  spiritual  forces  into  a 
psychic  whole.  Subjectivism  is  a  retreat  of 
the  soul  from  the  tyranny  of  realistic  en- 
croachments, and  is  an  unfolding  of  the 
inner  life.  While  subjective  feeling  alone 
cannot  be  the  whole  of  life,  it  is  also  true 

74 


MODERN  PSYCHOLOGY 

that  the  function  of  feeling  is  to  nourish 
and  inspire  to  action  all  the  capacities  of 
the  soul.  But  the  greatest  transforming 
factor  at  work  in  human  life  is  the  deep- 
seated  conviction  that  behind  all  seen  and 
known  agencies  there  are  spiritual  forces 
molding  human  destiny. 


75 


CHAPTER  XII 

RELATION  OF  COSMIC  TO 
PSYCHIC  NATURE 

Is  cosmic  nature  hostile,  indifferent,  or 
beneficent  to  man?  The  final  and  only 
satisfactory  answer  is  found  in  the  experi- 
ence of  humanity.  We  find  ourselves  living 
in  a  world  of  changing,  shifting  scenes;  we 
seem  to  be  only  spectators  of  all  cosmic 
operations;  these  go  on  wholly  indifferent 
to  our  psychic  needs,  our  joys  and  sorrows, 
our  prosperity  or  ruin.  And  they  are 
equally  indifferent  as  to  whether  we  are 
saints  or  sinners.  The  rains  and  sunshine, 
the  healthy  air  or  the  malarial  epidemic  are 
the  lot  of  all  alike,  without  regard  to  the 
moral  attitude.  The  hardest  problem  of  faith 
is  the  seeming  atheistical  meaning  of  cosmic 
action.  This  is  why  Spencer  in  his  First 
Principles  could  find  no  personality  in  the 
cause  of  phenomena,  but  only  "an  eternal 
energy  by  which  all  things  consist."    In  the 

76 


COSMIC  AND  PSYCHIC  NATURE 

sweep  of  epidemics,  earthquakes,  volcanic 
eruptions,  and  the  blasts  of  heated  tempera- 
ture the  forces  of  nature  appear  arrayed 
against  human  life  with  malignant  hostility, 
as  expressed  by  the  poet: 

If  but  some  vengeful  god  would  call  to  me 
From  out  the  sky,  and  laugh,  "Thou  sufferer 
Know  that  thy  sorrow  is  my  ecstasy, 
That  thy  love's  loss  is  my  keenest  profit" — 
Then  would  I  bear,  and  clasp  myself,  and  die, 
Steeled  by  the  sense  of  an  unmerited  [fate]. 

This  seeming  hostility  of  the  elements 
makes  faith  more  difficult,  leading  Mill  in 
his  Essay  on  Religion  to  lay  down  the  propo- 
sition that  if  God  were  omnipresent,  the  just 
law  would  be  that  each  person's  share  of 
suffering  would  be  in  exact  proportion  to 
that  person's  deeds. 

But  does  this  indifference  and  even  hos- 
tility of  cosmic  nature  express  the  real  ex- 
perience of  life?  There  is  another  side. 
Experience  testifies  to  the  beneficent  design 
found  in  the  provisions  for  the  comfort  and 
happiness  of  men.  Consider  the  materia 
medica  abundantly  existing  for  therapeutic 

77 


HUMAN  NATURE 

purposes,  which  even  animals  recognize  and 
to  which  they  resort  for  help,  and  which 
medical  science  adopts  as  the  basis  of  all 
cures.  Surely  there  is  in  this  no  indifference, 
much  less  of  hostility,  to  man.  Mark  also 
the  beneficent  design  apparent  in  the  har- 
mony and  persistence  of  cosmic  laws,  by 
which  man  regulates  his  lifework  and  with- 
out which  there  would  be  no  assurance  of 
a  to-morrow.  Still  more,  observe  the  har- 
monious combination  of  earth,  air,  and 
water,  as  if  arranged  especially  for  the  com- 
fort and  longevity  of  man.  And  not  least 
see  the  working  of  the  cosmic  forces  for  the 
removal  of  malarious  conditions  and  the 
turning  of  its  hostility  into  benevolent 
action. 

The  charge  that  cosmic  nature  is  unmoral 
in  its  constitution  and  action,  and  therefore 
indifferent  to  the  life  of  man,  is  not  an  ob- 
jection to  its  claim  of  benevolent  design. 
Suppose  that  physical  nature  were  built  on 
moral  laws,  what  must  result  to  human  life? 
Suppose  that  disaster  depended  upon  moral 
conduct,  that  to  the  moral  man  all  the  ele- 

78 


COSMIC  AND  PSYCHIC  NATURE 

merits  were  propitious,  that  needed  rains 
fell  only  on  his  land  in  mild  showers,  that 
the  germination  of  seeds  responded  only  to 
his  sowing,  that  all  cosmic  activities  were  so 
gauged  as  to  exempt  the  just  invariably 
from  all  calamity;  suppose  all  this  benefi- 
cent care  for  the  one  class,  while  direct  retri- 
bution fell  immediately  on  the  sinner  because 
nature  was  built  on  strictly  moral  lines,  what 
must  be  the  basis  of  morality?  Must  it  not 
be  prudence?  Must  not  the  ground  of  virtue 
be  what  could  be  gained  and  what  could  be 
avoided  by  being  moral?  What  kind  of 
character  would  be  grown  out  of  this  mo- 
tive? Is  not  this  unmoral  world,  whose 
forces  act  impartially  and  whose  rains  fall 
on  all  alike,  the  only  kind  of  a  world  in  which 
man  may  achieve  character?  The  great 
world  "choice"  is  the  key  to  character.  The 
cosmic  world  is  indeed  unmoral,  but  a  bene- 
ficent design  runs  through  all  its  processes, 
which  the  Divine  uses  to  help  our  choice. 

Let  us  pause  a  moment  and  see  how  cos- 
mic nature  comes  to  the  aid  of  the  psychic 
in  the  getting  of  knowledge.    First  of  all, 

79 


HUMAN  NATURE 

it  furnishes  the  raw  material  through  the 
sense  organs  which  we  name  "percepts." 
These  are  passed  on  to  the  laboratory  of  the 
reason,  which  forms  several  percepts  into  a 
composite  picture  named  a  "concept." 
Thus,  what  was  the  raw  material  of  the 
sensuous  life  becomes  by  this  constructive 
process  psychic  knowledge  and  the  cause  of 
volition. 

But  not  all  knowledge  takes  this  course. 
That  which  is  called  "intuitive"  is  imme- 
diate. It  rises  spontaneously;  it  is  an  in- 
born power  of  the  soul,  ready  organized  at 
birth;  it  is  the  foundation  of  experience. 
The  genetic  potencies  are  related  to  the 
cosmic  forces,  but  do  not  end  in  them.  They 
capture  the  field  of  feeling  and  occupy  the 
domain  of  the  intellect.  From  their  energy 
arise  the  great  geniuses  of  history.  The  in- 
ventor, the  artist,  the  orator  who  sways  the 
multitude  are  all  born  of  them. 

Religion  in  these  modern  times  is  finding 
its  affinities  with  cosmic  forces.  Her 
thinkers  have  always  felt  that  "matter  is 
full  of  spirit."    But  it  is  only  since  the  im- 

80 


COSMIC  AND  PSYCHIC  NATURE 

manence  of  God  has  become  a  canon  of 
belief  that  the  true  interpretation  of  the  doc- 
trine, "God  is  in  all  his  works,"  has  become 
possible.  The  human  spirit  is  in  constant 
interaction  with  the  cosmic  world.  Primi- 
tive man  living  close  to  nature  feels  the  touch 
of  its  fire.  His  conceptions  must  neces- 
sarily be  crude;  but  he  "sees  God  in  clouds 
and  hears  him  in  the  winds."  He  makes 
a  "totem"  to  represent  his  feelings.  Sym- 
bols are  necessary  in  his  worship,  and  it  is 
worthy  of  note  that  the  necessity  of  sym- 
bolism continues  through  all  ages  of  reli- 
gious progress.  The  Greek  altar,  erected 
to  the  "unknown  God,"  the  Hebrew  animal 
sacrifices,  the  Roman  Catholic  images  of 
Christ  and  saints,  and  the  Protestant  cross 
are  all  symbols  of  worship,  showing  the  per- 
sistent relation  of  the  psychic  to  the  cosmic 
nature. 

Religious  emotions  are  a  stronger  illus- 
tration of  this  relation.  The  religious  life 
is  largely  fed  by  them,  as  they  arise  from 
perceptions  of  the  beautiful  and  the  sublime 
in    nature's    operations.      "The    undevout 

81 


HUMAN  NATURE 

astronomer  is  mad,"  said  Newton.  Reli- 
gious cults  depend  largely  upon  emotion, 
especially  in  the  beginning  of  their  propa- 
gandism.  When  the  flame  of  Methodism 
was  kindled  in  New  England,  burning  in 
the  dry  stubble  of  traditional  theology, 
Emerson  defined  it  as  "morality  set  on  fire 
with  emotion."  It  is  a  remarkable  psycho- 
logical fact  that  the  sect  which  cultivates 
the  emotional  side  of  religion  takes  the  lead 
in  converting  the  multitude  to  its  faith.  Not 
so  much  that  the  Spirit  uses  the  emotions, 
as  he  evidently  does,  but  because  the  emo- 
tions relate  the  soul  to  nature.  The  human 
will  consents  to  the  divine  rule,  "through 
nature  up  to  nature's  God." 


82 


CHAPTER  XIII 

UNITY  AND  CONTINUITY  OF 
HUMAN  NATURE 

Human  nature  must  be  studied  as  a  unit, 
and  not  as  to  individual  lives,  for  a  correct 
view  of  it.  While  each  man  forms  his  own 
character,  he  is  obliged  to  do  this  in  the  en- 
vironment and  under  the  laws  of  society. 
He  must  yield  up  much  of  his  individuality 
to  the  social  order.  He  is  gregarious,  not 
by  volition  and  for  protection,  but  by  the 
necessity  of  his  being.  His  adaptations  and 
natural  instincts  compel  him  to  a  social 
order.  And  hence  it  follows  that  human 
nature  must  be  studied  as  a  unit. 

The  flow  of  human  nature  is  toward  a 
finished  manhood.  The  model  of  that  man- 
hood is  Jesus.  The  Master  of  men  was 
much  concerned  about  a  completed  man- 
hood as  conceived  in  the  unity  of  humanity. 
All  spiritual  endowments  one  might  receive 

83 


HUMAN  NATURE 

had  but  one  purpose,  that  purpose  being 
the  development  in  humanity  of  its  highest 
character.  For  Jesus  taught  that  all  mental, 
moral,  and  religious  endowment  was  a 
preparation  that  one  might  do  his  part  in 
the  bringing  of  human  nature  to  a  finished 
manhood. 

The  history  of  human  life  verifies  this 
statement.  The  trend  is  toward  the  grow- 
ing recognition  of  human  brotherhood. 
How  quickly  the  natural  instinct  of  help- 
fulness is  aroused  by  any  great  calamity 
occurring  to  a  nation  or  city!  A  famine 
in  India  or  China  instantly  calls  forth  the 
overflowing  sympathy  of  the  more  pros- 
perous. The  conflagration  of  cities  like 
Chicago  and  San  Francisco  was  responded 
to  by  the  pouring  out  of  help  without 
measure.  All  such  manifestations  of  broth- 
erly feeling  indicate  that  in  the  bond  of 
human  relationship  "all  men  are  of  kin," 
and  the  results  of  such  sympathetic  activi- 
ties are  found  in  the  increased  moral  virtue 
of  all  those  participating  in  the  giving. 

The  primitive  unit  of  human  nature  is  the 

84 


UNITY  AND  CONTINUITY 

family,  where  the  instinct  of  unity  is  espe- 
cially developed.  A  larger  unit  of  manhood 
is  found  in  the  case  of  a  tribe  or  nation; 
the  spirit  of  patriotism  merges  many  fami- 
lies into  a  national  unity.  A  still  larger 
unit  of  manhood,  bearing  the  marks  of  a 
similar  nature,  is  that  of  all  nations  born  of 
the  same  blood  and  constituting  a  compo- 
site humanity.  True,  the  conflict  which  is 
now  disintegrating  all  Europe  and  throw- 
ing each  nation  back  into  a  separate  unit 
seems  to  deny  any  real  oneness  of  humanity 
and  to  show  that  a  confederated  unity  of  the 
whole  race  of  man  is  but  a  "rope  of  sand." 
But  we  do  well  to  remember  that  this  ter- 
rible outbreak  of  savagery  is,  rather,  a  re- 
lapse into  the  original,  undeveloped  state  of 
primitive  man.  The  normal  spirit  of  de- 
veloped humanity  is  seen  in  the  quickness 
with  which  the  sympathies  of  the  other  na- 
tions of  the  world  are  aroused.  Neutral 
America  exhibits  this  spirit  in  the  shiploads 
of  supplies  sent  for  the  relief  of  the  Euro- 
pean sufferers,  because  of  the  latent  feeling 
of  a  common  brotherhood. 

85 


HUMAN  NATURE 

It  is  obvious  that  the  unity  of  human 
nature  does  not  require  any  formal  same- 
ness of  individuals.  A  diversity  of  forms 
exists  in  all  unities.  The  dynamic  forces 
which  cement  the  individual  atoms  into  a 
sameness  constitute  the  bond  of  union.  As, 
in  the  case  of  a  mighty  current,  the  force 
of  gravitation  guides  all  the  confluent 
branches  into  one  stream,  whatever  different 
substances  are  held  in  solution,  so  the  energy 
of  life  makes  human  nature  a  unit  of  that 
energy. 

The  continuity  of  human  nature  is  to  be 
inferred  from  its  unity.  The  divine  pur- 
pose which  created  humanity  gives  no  hint 
that  it  was  simply  an  experiment;  but, 
rather,  like  all  other  types  of  cosmic  nature, 
humanity  carries  the  same  evidence  of  con- 
tinuity. Let  us  think  of  this  continuity  of 
human  nature  as  a  circle  rather  than  a  tan- 
gent. The  circle  shall  be  our  symbol  of 
evolution.  It  is  an  eternal  flow,  without 
end  or  beginning.  The  dynamic  that  flows 
in  the  circle  is  the  divine  life-energy.  The 
psychic  energy  of  humanity  starts  at  any 

86 


UNITY  AND  CONTINUITY 

point  conceivable  and  continues  to  flow  with 
this  current  of  divine  energy.  True,  the 
individual  by  his  choice  may  refuse  to  flow 
in  harmony  with  the  current.  But  human- 
ity as  a  unit  is  under  the  power  of  an  eternal 
purpose.  This  is  what  we  mean  by  the  con- 
tinuity of  human  nature. 

The  law  of  human  life  is  that  he  who  self- 
ishly withholds  his  life  shall  lose  it,  while 
he  who  loses  his  life  individually  by  blend- 
ing it  with  that  of  others  shall  keep  it 
eternally.  This  study  is  not  to  discuss  the 
destiny  of  the  lost  or  of  the  saved,  but  is  to 
emphasize  the  great  truth  that  human  nature 
is  God-centered  and  is  put  by  a  divine  pur- 
pose in  the  flow  of  psychic  evolution.  So 
it  is  led  up  to  partake  of  the  divine  nature, 
and  is  thus  inspired  to  increased  usefulness. 
And  we  may  add  that  we  are  not  thinking 
in  this  study  so  much  of  individual  happi- 
ness or  misery  as  that  the  great  unit  of 
psychic  humanity  is  under  the  lead  of  a 
divine  Energy  whose  purpose  is  to  make  it 
somewhat  worth  while  for  a  divine  beginning. 


87 


IV 

RELIGIOUSNESS  IN  HUMAN 
NATURE 


"Search  the  scriptures;  for  in  them  ye 
think  ye  have  eternal  Life." — Jesus. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  RELIGIOUS  CAPACITY 

At  first  some  will  shrink  from  an  attempt 
to  discuss  religion  from  the  standpoint  of 
psychology.  But  we  have  a  current  phi- 
losophy of  religion,  and  why  not  a  psy- 
chology of  religion?  Since  psychology  is  the 
study  of  the  soul,  and  since  the  soul  is  the 
principal  factor  in  religion,  why  not  study 
religion  with  what  knowledge  we  have  of 
the  soul?  Religion  is  the  psychological  ap- 
prehension and  worship  of  some  spiritual 
power  that  obtrudes  itself  upon  our  con- 
sciousness. We  cannot  comprehend  it;  we 
may  not  name  it;  we  simply  apprehend  the 
fact  that  a  "Somewhat  not  of  ourselves  that 
makes  for  righteousness"  is  immanent.  This 
power  to  apprehend  a  spiritual  manifesta- 
tion may  be  termed  a  religious  capacity.  It 
is  not  born  of  revelation,  as  some  assert; 

neither  is  it  originated  at  conversion;  it  is 

91 


HUMAN  NATURE 

principally  intuitional,  rather  than  rational. 
We  know  God,  first  of  all,  by  intuitively 
apprehending  his  immanence. 

The  instinct  of  worship  is  universal  in 
human  life.  In  the  primitive  stage  there  is 
the  intuition  of  the  presence  of  invisible 
power.  The  instinct  is  indefinable,  but  real 
to  consciousness.  The  feeling  is  that  of  awe 
and  fear,  and  worship  is  largely  in  the  form 
of  effort  to  placate  the  divinity  by  offerings. 
The  invisible  powers  are  regarded  as  imma- 
nent in  every  object  of  nature.  Savage 
tribes  still  in  the  primitive  stage  ask  the 
question,  "What  is  this  something  that  is 
the  object  of  my  fear?"  They  are  begin- 
ning their  education  in  religion.  Bishop 
Taylor,  who  spent  so  many  years  with  the 
savages,  declared  that  "the  heathen  are  in 
the  school  of  the  Spirit."  But  when  men 
begin  to  reason  about  the  divine  powers  their 
method  is  to  theologize  and  formulate  their 
ideas  into  beliefs. 

The  history  of  human  life,  so  far  as  we 
have  it  in  literature,  shows  the  gradual  ful- 
fillment   of   past    interpretations    of    God. 

92 


THE  RELIGIOUS  CAPACITY 

Christ  came  to  make  more  complete  what 
was  but  imperfectly  revealed  in  Judaism. 
It  has  been  in  the  "fullness  of  time"  that 
every  new  and  larger  revelation  has  come. 
This  has  been  given  to  meet  the  growing 
needs  of  human  life;  the  hunger  of  the 
human  heart  to  know  more  of  God  and  his 
will,  as  men  have  been  able  to  apprehend 
it,  has  ever  been  met  by  a  clearer  manifes- 
tation of  that  will. 

God  did  not  leave  the  world  for  ages 
ignorant  of  himself ;  but  in  every  period  holy 
men  "spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost."  In  the  fragments  of  ancient  liter- 
ature which  remain  are  found  some  of  the 
divine  lessons  given  men,  according  to  their 
capacity  to  apprehend  them.  The  epic 
poem  of  "Izdubar,"  recently  translated  from 
the  brick  tablets  dug  from  the  mounds  of 
the  Assyrian  valley,  give  us  a  glimpse  of  the 
religiousness  of  that  age.  So,  in  the  Zend- 
Avesta  of  the  early  Persians,  the  Five 
Classics  of  ancient  China,  the  Egyptian 
Book  of  the  Dead,  the  Rig-Vedas  of  India, 
the    Eddas    of    Scandinavia,    the    Hebrew 

93 


HUMAN  NATURE 

writings  of  Palestine,  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment of  Christianity  are  contained  fresh 
lessons  of  divine  revelation  in  increasing 
clearness  for  the  culture  of  human  religious- 
ness; and  the  capability  to  apprehend  these 
revelations  has  kept  pace  therewith.  It  is 
not  fair  to  cast  aside  as  fiction  all  the  as- 
sumed divineness  of  racial  revelations  and 
accept  as  divine  the  Hebrew  revelation, 
which  is  equally  a  race  religion.  The  study 
of  all  these  revelations  is  necessary,  in  the 
effort  to  understand  the  development  of  the 
religious  capacity. 

The  evolution  of  the  religious  capacity 
culminates  in  ethical  character.  The  aim 
of  the  great  Teacher  of  religion  was  to  bring 
his  followers  up  to  his  level  of  equitable 
Tightness.  The  perfection  in  righteousness 
which  any  disciple  must  reach,  in  order  to 
belong  to  his  "Kingdom,"  is  a  trustworthi- 
ness of  character.  This  wealth  of  character 
is  the  highest  attainment  of  the  religious 
capacity;  it  is  the  end  of  evolution. 


94 


CHAPTER  XV 

MEANING  OF  RELIGIOUS 
EXPERIENCE 

Several  philosophies  of  religion  have 
been  given  to  the  world  to  show  that  religion 
Jias  a  lawful  place  in  the  rational  experience 
of  life.  In  one  of  his  works  the  late  Bishop 
Foster  makes  the  distinction  between  a 
"Christian  experience"  and  "an  experience 
of  Christianity."  But  he  fails  to  show  that 
the  facts  of  a  Christian  experience  are  suffi- 
cient to  cover  the  ground  of  all  religious 
experience,  because  those  facts  are  of  a  cer- 
tain class  which  may  not  be  common  to  all 
forms  of  religion  but  only  to  the  Christian 
faith.  What  is  needed,  in  setting  forth  a 
philosophy  of  religious  experience,  is  to 
gather  the  facts  common  to  all  experiences 
and  to  so  classify  them  as  to  reach  the  gen- 
eral principles  of  all  religious  experience. 

The  first  thing  in  this  study  is  to  deter- 
mine what  we  mean  by  "experience."    It  is 

95 


HUMAN  NATURE 
defined  as  a  test  or  mental  trial  of  anv 

• 

proposition  made  to  us  by  which  we  judge 
its  reality  and  adaptation  to  our  use.  A 
religious  experience,  therefore,  ia  the  trial 
of  any  revelation  made  to  us  as  to  its  reality 
and  adaptability.  One  can  consequently 
have  a  special  Christian  experience  by  the 
trial  of  the  special  forces  that  the  Christian 
revelation  provides.  In  the  matter  of  char- 
acter, therefore,  experience  stands  for  what 
experiment  stands  in  science.  They  are  both 
the  test  of  the  reality  and  worth  of  the 
propositions  made  to  them.  Religious  ex- 
perience, it  may  be  added,  is  common  to  all 
rt'_.r:  ins. 

In  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury speculative  optimism  gathered  its  cur- 
rent from  many  confluent  streams  such  as 
Berkeleian  idealism,  Emersonianism,  Chr.  - 
tian  Science,  and  Mind  Cure  or  the  thera- 
peutic power  of  suggestion.  All  of  these 
speculations  agree  in  one  point,  namely, 
that,  to  get  rid  of  harrowing  fear  and  to 
reach  the  rest  of  faith,  "there  is  nothing  but 
God,  and  he  is  good."    E^il,  thev  hold,  is  a 


RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE 

lie.  or.  at  the  most,  it  is  a  negation.  There- 
fore we  are  not  to  reason  about  it,  but  are 
to  leave  it  and  pass  oil  The  best  repentance 
is  to  be  ';up  and  act  for  righteousness."  And 
one  cannot  fail  to  see  a  similarity  between 
this  optimistic  attitude  and  some  so-called 
"evangelistic"  methods  of  the  present  day. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  pessimistic 
philosophy  which  holds  that  evil  is  a  foreign 
intrusion  which  must  be  expelled-  It  cannot 
be  ignored,  nor  adjusted  to  any  lyilm  of 
happiness;  it  requires  a  supernatural  force 
for  its  removal ;  it  is  so  ingrained  by  hered:~ 
that  it  is  the  despair  of  men  and  the  rival  of 
God.  With  this  philosophy  we  may  expect 
to  find  a  variety  of  experiences.  Listen  to 
Luther :  T  am  utterly  weary  of  life.  I  pray 
the  Lord  that  he  will  come  and  carry  me 
home.  Let  him  come  with  his  last  judg- 
ment: the  thunder  will  break,  and  I  shall 
be  at  re-*  Or  Robert  Louis  Stevenson 
writes:  ''There  is  an  element  in  human 
destiny  that  not  blindnes-  itself  can  contro- 
vert Whatever  else  we  are  intended  to  do, 
we  are  not  intended  to  succeed;  failure  is 


HUMAN  NATURE 

intended."  Or,  said  another  of  this  class: 
"The  trouble  with  me  is  that  I  believe  too 
much  in  human  happiness  and  goodness,  and 
nothing  can  console  me."  Thus,  through 
long  years  of  morbid  experience,  this  pessi- 
mism is  in  the  heart  of  every  materialistic 
philosophy.  "The  world  is  on  the  down- 
grade and  full  of  misery,"  it  says;  "there  is 
no  God;  or  if  there  is,  he  made  the  world  to 
mock  its  inhabitants."  But  it  is  different 
with  Christianity.  While,  no  doubt,  it  has 
a  pessimistic  side,  since  sin  is  a  stubborn  fact 
and  must  be  expelled  as  an  evil  from  human 
life,  the  glory  of  Christianity  is  that  it  is  a 
system  of  deliverance  and  that  its  normal 
note  is  a  shout  of  victory. 

The  main  difference  between  these  two 
classes  of  optimists  and  pessimists  is  that 
the  one  lives  in  a  world  which  to  him  is  a 
world  of  unity  conserved  by  a  beneficent 
order,  while  the  other  finds  mankind  under 
the  domination  of  a  duality  of  powers  which 
are  at  strife.  The  optimist  seeks  to  be  "born 
from  above"  by  the  addition  of  the  "plus" 
or  highest  qualities  of  life.    Paul's  "What 

98 


RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE 

I  would  that  do  I  not,  but  what  I  hate  that 
do  I"  is  the  self-conscious  approval  of  the 
ideal  good  that  he  does  not  reach  in  conduct 
and  his  disapproval  of  the  conduct  that  he 
does  attain.  Both  of  these  classes  are 
honestly  seeking  a  unity  with  God — one  by 
receiving  the  "plus"  gifts  of  the  Spirit  of 
Life,  the  other  by  such  a  change  in  himself 
as  kills  the  carnal  nature  and  sets  up  the 
rule  of  God  in  his  life. 

The  place  of  suffering  in  a  psychological 
order  of  being  is  a  question  arising  in  a 
study  of  human  nature.  The  fact  of  suffer- 
ing is  so  universal  in  human  life  that,  besides 
the  reason  found  in  the  violation  of  law, 
there  ought  to  be  discovered  a  psychological 
ground  for  it.  We  know  that  it  is  not  con- 
fined to  the  department  of  physical  pain, 
but  that  there  are  mental  sufferings  far  more 
acute  than  any  physical  sensations.  This 
was  the  nature  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
who  "hath  borne  our  griefs  and  carried  our 
sorrows."  But  there  is  a  moral  side  to  suf- 
fering, as  there  is  to  all  the  problems  of  life. 
We  may  take  one  of  two  alternatives:  we 

99 


HUMAN  NATURE 

may  passively  yield  ourselves  to  its  influence, 
or  we  may  struggle  against  its  power  to 
subject  us  and  may  use  it  for  self -develop- 
ment. The  first  way  leads  to  Nirvana;  the 
second  to  strenuousness  of  character.  Like 
Paul,  may  we  not  "glory  in  tribulations" 
for  the  strengthening  of  our  soul  fiber?  And 
in  our  sympathetic  sufferings  for  others  may 
we  not  imitate  Jesus  who,  "for  the  joy  that 
was  set  before  him  endured  the  cross,  despis- 
ing the  shame"?  Is  it  not  cowardice  to  run 
from  suffering  or  to  surrender  without  a 
manly  resistance  ?  In  the  struggle  for  char- 
acter it  is  better  to  square  ourselves  with  the 
issues  of  life  as  they  come. 

The  psychology  of  evil  must  be  studied 
apart  from  any  theological  bias.  To  sum 
up  the  Hebrew  conception  of  sin,  the  classi- 
fication was:  (1)  The  unintentional  and 
ignorant  missing  of  the  right,  to  which  no 
personal  guilt  was  attached;  (2)  personal, 
intentional  wrongdoing,  by  omitting  to  do 
some  known  duty,  or  by  purposely  refusing 
to  do  the  right  and  choosing  to  do  the  wrong, 

in  which  instances  the  "intention"  was  the 

100 


RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE 

prime  element  in  the  offense  and  sin  against 
another  was  counted  as  done  against  God 
or  the  State.  Turning  to  the  Greek  Scrip- 
tures, we  find  the  same  generalization.  But 
the  term  amartia  is  a  more  definite  term 
than  the  Hebrew  chattaw.  It  confines  itself 
almost  wholly  to  personal  intentional  wrong- 
doing; it  does  not  call  ignorant,  uninten- 
tional wrongdoing  a  sin.  But  it  emphasizes 
the  inherited  propension  as  a  dual  power 
working  in  human  nature  against  the  intel- 
lectual judgment  of  the  soul  and  subjecting 
the  will  to  evil  volitions.  And,  while  Jesus 
did  not  teach  this  dual  power  of  sin,  but 
made  it  to  consist  wholly  in  the  intention  of 
the  sinner,  organized  Christianity  follows 
the  psychology  of  Paul,  the  founder  of 
Christian  theology,  whose  idea  of  this  dual 
power  is  set  forth  in  the  seventh  chapter  of 
Romans. 

Greek  moralists  located  the  seat  of  evil 
in  the  organic  propension;  modern  psychol- 
ogists find  the  propelling  power  of  motive 
in  propension.    But  the  appetence  itself  has 

no  moral  quality;  it  seeks  to  obtain  some- 

101 


HUMAN  NATURE 

thing  either  good  or  bad  that  the  soul  de- 
sires; the  moral  quality  is  in  the  intention. 
Many  motives  clamor  for  attention,  and  the 
will  chooses  which  it  will  follow.  The  choice 
is  made  with  a  positive  intention  of  doing 
right  or  wrong.  The  sin  is  not  located  in 
the  appetence,  for  that  has  no  moral  quality ; 
it  is  not  in  the  intellectual  idea  of  something 
desirable;  it  must  inhere  in  the  purpose  of 
the  soul  to  realize  what  the  appetence  craves, 
knowing  it  to  be  wrong.  This  is  the  solution 
that  psychology  gives  of  the  problem  of  sin. 
What  is  it,  psychologically  considered,  to 
be  saved?  We  must  avoid  all  theological 
answers,  because  of  the  variant  definitions 
given  by  theologians  and  because  experience 
is  always  psychological  rather  than  theolog- 
ical. Following  our  analysis  of  sin,  we  may 
consider  salvation  both  as  a  deliverance  from 
the  habit  of  sinning  and  as  the  acquisition  of 
a  pure  character.  Deliverance  from  the  con- 
sequences of  past  sinning  can  only  be  pos- 
sible, whether  it  has  been  against  God  or 
man,  by  reparation  on  the  part  of  the  sinner 
and   by    forgiveness    on   the    part   of   the 

102 


RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE 

offended.  The  reparation  required  is  re- 
pentance; and  repentance  implies  the  cessa- 
tion of  offending  and  the  humiliation  of 
asking  forgiveness.  This  is  the  universal 
requirement,  whether  the  sinning  has  been 
against  God  or  man.  If  the  offender  is  not 
willing  to  ask  forgiveness,  and  on  the  con- 
dition that  the  offending  cease,  then  forgive- 
ness is  of  no  value;  the  old  animosity  re- 
mains, whatever  the  offended  party  may  be 
willing  to  do  to  heal  it. 

Forgiveness  releases  the  soul  from  pen- 
alty, but  does  not  recover  it  from  the  natural 
consequences  that  sin  entails.  These  con- 
sequences are  limitations  of  soul  activity; 
they  are  not  to  be  considered  penal,  but  they 
remain  as  scars  and  marks  of  infirmity.  Yet 
forgiveness  releases  the  soul  from  penal 
guilt;  to  this  there  is  always  some  testi- 
mony, given  in  some  manner,  so  that  the 
offender  knows  he  is  forgiven.  In  the  Scrip- 
tures this  evidence  is  named  the  "witness 
of  the  Spirit. 


103 


■>■> 


CHAPTER  XVI 

PHILOSOPHY  OF  RELIGIOUS 
EXPERIENCE 

The  history  of  religion  shows  the  har- 
mony of  philosophic  thought  with  it,  as  each 
acts  upon  the  other.  "There  is  an  oracle 
that  responds  to  any  revelation  from  God." 
As  Le  Verrier  and  Adams  were  able  to 
affirm  from  mathematical  reasoning  that  a 
planet  must  exist  beyond  Uranus  which  the 
eye  of  man  had  never  seen,  and  as  after- 
ward that  affirmation  was  confirmed  by  the 
discovery  of  Neptune,  so  the  ancient  philos- 
ophers by  their  conceptions  foretold  the 
existence  of  God,  and  their  affirmations  have 
been  verified  by  revelation  and  experience. 
And,  as  science  by  its  experiments  has  en- 
abled us  to  understand  the  phenomena  of 
nature,  so  has  philosophy  led  man  from  a 
mystical  apprehension  of  an  unknown 
"Somewhat"  to  the  conscious  experience  of 
a  Divine  Reality. 

104 


PHILOSOPHY 

Paul  recognized  the  influence  of  Grecian 
philosophy  upon  the  religiousness  of  his 
Athenian  hearers.  They  were  "feeling" 
after  God.  They  had  become  "very  reli- 
gious." Certain  of  their  poets  had  arrived 
at  a  knowledge  of  kinship  with  him,  and 
had  said,  "We  are  also  his  offspring."  They 
had  discovered  a  relation  with  him  which 
prepared  the  way  for  the  Christian  standard 
of  religion.  By  accepting  the  Alexandrian 
philosophy  Christianity  purified  its  theology, 
advancing  from  a  merely  mystical  intuition 
of  God  to  a  full  concept  of  his  personality. 
So  Clement  said,  "The  night  of  paganism 
had  its  star  to  light  it,  and  gave  hope  for 
the  rising  sun." 

The  question  naturally  arises,  What  is 
this  that  obtrudes  and  persists  in  my  life? 
Has  it  name  or  personality?  For  the 
rational  mind  cannot  worship  the  imper- 
sonal; there  must  be  the  conscious  idea  of 
a  personal  Somewhat  to  cause  either  wor- 
ship or  fear.  While  no  rational  concept  of 
that  personality  can  be  formed,  yet  the  idea 
arises  from  an  apprehended  suggestion  of 

105 


HUMAN  NATURE 

a  Divine  Presence.  The  religious  capacity 
is  intuitive  rather  than  rational.  It  is  uni- 
versal, for  no  tribe  of  men,  however  primi- 
tive and  savage,  has  been  found  which  is 
destitute  of  some  conscious  apprehension  of 
God  or  what  stands  for  God  as  present  in 
their  lives. 

It  is  in  the  activity  of  this  capacity  that 
religious  experience  is  grounded.  In  the 
study  of  Christian  experience  it  is  a  remark- 
able fact  that  we  find  instances  of  Oriental 
experience  in  all  ethnic  religions  which  prove 
religion  to  be  a  constitutional  capacity  of 
the  soul,  developing  its  power  according  to 
the  clearness  of  the  revelations  given.  Acts 
of  worship  and  conscious  communion  with 
spiritual  powers  have  a  definite  meaning  to 
us.  A  sense  of  reality  attaches  to  the  object 
of  worship,  and  our  whole  life  is  polarized 
by  this  sense.  Even  agnostics  who  do  not 
believe  in  a  personal  God  have  an  indefinable 
consciousness  of  an  abstract  reality  which 
they  name  "It." 

The  psychological  feelings  of  men  toward 
the  "Unseen"  will  be  better  understood  if  we 

106 


PHILOSOPHY 

classify  Christian  experiences  and  make 
them  types  of  all  the  manifestations  of  the 
Divine.  The  first  class  see  in  God  an  ani- 
mating Spirit,  beneficent,  kind,  merciful, 
and  pure.  They  seldom  look  back  upon 
their  imperfections;  they  hardly  think  of 
themselves  at  all;  they  never  shrink  from 
God,  for  he  is  to  them  the  impersonation  of 
kindness  and  beauty.  One  of  this  class 
expresses  the  pleasure  it  gives  her  that 
she  can  always  "cuddle  up  to  God."  In  his 
relation  of  his  religious  experience  Dr. 
Edward  Everett  Hale  said:  "I  always  knew 
that  God  loved  me,  and  was  always  grateful 
to  him  for  the  world  he  placed  me  in;  and 
I  always  liked  to  tell  him  so." 

A  second  class  consists  of  such  as  have  a 
radical  and  instantaneous  change  of  nature 
which  is  like  a  new  creation.  These  point 
to  a  time  and  place  when  and  where  the 
great  change  occurred  which  made  over  their 
entire  course  of  life.  Tolstoy  says:  "I  re- 
member one  day  being  alone  in  the  woods, 
and  my  thought  ran  over  the  year  past  in 
which  I  had  been  busy  on  my  Quest  of  God, 

107 


HUMAN  NATURE 

and  all  at  once  there  arose  within  me  glad 
aspirations  toward  life.  Everything  within 
me  awoke  and  received  a  meaning."  Had- 
ley,  a  common  drunkard,  said:  "One  day  I 
sat  in  a  saloon  in  Harlem  [New  York  city], 
a  homeless,  friendless,  dying  drunkard.  It 
came  into  my  head  to  go  to  Jerry  McAuley's 
Mission.  Jerry  rose  and  told  his  experience. 
I  found  myself  saying,  'I  wonder  if  God 
can  save  me.'  When  the  invitation  was 
given  I  knelt  with  a  crowd  of  drunkards. 
Jerry  prayed,  and  Mrs.  McAuley  prayed 
earnestly  for  us.  What  a  conflict  was  going 
on  in  my  soul!  A  blessed  whisper  said, 
'Come/  The  devil  said,  'Be  careful/  I 
hesitated  a  moment.  Then  I  said,  'Dear 
Lord,  can  you  help  me?'  Never  can  I  de- 
scribe that  moment.  I  felt  the  brightness 
of  a  noonday  sun  shining  in  my  heart;  I 
felt  I  was  a  free  man."  The  practical  ques- 
tion is  often  asked  as  to  whether  there  are 
any  marks  by  which  to  determine  the  reality 
of  these  experiences.  The  only  marks  are 
those  indicated  by  Jesus,  "By  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them."    And  it  is  found  that 

108 


PHILOSOPHY 

practical  godliness  is  as  common  among  the 
one  class  as  the  other.  The  "fruits"  grow 
as  vigorously  among  the  gradually  as  among 
the  suddenly  converted. 

The  question  is  sometimes  raised  as  to 
whether  conversion  is  an  instantaneous 
change  of  the  nature,  as  one  might  change 
the  action  of  a  machine  by  changing  the 
relation  of  its  parts,  or  whether  it  is  a  psycho- 
logical readjustment  of  the  soul  activities 
by  the  inspiration  of  God  acting  in  con- 
junction with  the  will  of  the  subject.  The 
fact  of  experience  is  that  in  every  conver- 
sion the  soul  is  conscious  of  some  mental 
action  in  its  surrender  to  God.  Professor 
Coe,  in  his  The  Spiritual  Life,  well  says, 
"The  ultimate  test  of  spiritual  values  is 
nothing  definable  in  terms  of  how  it  hap- 
pened, but  in  something  ethically  definable 
in  terms  of  what  is  attained."  As  far  as 
definable  the  content  of  consciousness  in  con- 
version is:  (1)  A  sense  of  the  divine  Pres- 
ence; (2)  a  sense  of  freedom  from  some- 
thing that  has  held  the  soul  in  bondage; 
(3)  a  peaceful  rest  from  mental  struggle. 

109 


HUMAN  NATURE 

And  all  this  is  followed  by  a  desire  to  do 
the  will  of  God  as  soon  as  known. 

After  conversion  there  arises  a  new  class 
of  experiences  consequent  on  a  new  class 
of  ideals  set  up  in  the  soul,  for  experience 
is  the  attempt  to  actualize  our  ideals.  When 
one  takes  Jesus  as  the  model  of  his  life  he 
Jbegins  to  see  what  he  must  do  to  realize  the 
ideal  Christian  character.  His  definition  of 
purity  will  shape  his  experience.  He  may 
define  it  as  cleanness,  and  so  will  conceive 
of  a  process  of  cleansing.  He  may  literalize 
the  symbols  of  this  cleansing  as  given  in  the 
Scripture,  and  may  conceive  of  the  process 
as  a  washing  of  the  stains  of  sin  from  the 
soul  as  one  might  wash  a  soiled  cloth.  Hold- 
ing that  the  Spirit  uses  the  "blood"  as  the 
instrument  in  such  a  process,  he  may  claim 
this  as  his  experience  in  purification.  An- 
other may  define  purity  as  a  completeness 
or  unmixed  fullness.  With  this  meaning  in 
mind,  he  will  look  for  something  to  complete 
what  is  lacking  to  realize  the  character  he 
aspires  to.     His  experience  will  be  that  of 

being  "filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God." 

no 


PHILOSOPHY 

The  Divine  Presence,  thus  apprehended, 
purifies  the  character  by  harmonizing  the 
activities  of  the  soul  with  the  will  of  God, 
who  is  ever  known  in  consciousness.  It  is 
the  expulsive  power  of  God's  apprehended 
presence,  breaking  up  the  old  habitudes  of 
the  soul  that  remain  after  conversion  from 
the  former  life. 

This  brief  review  of  the  philosophy  of 
religious  experience  is  given  to  show  that 
the  reality  of  religion  does  not  depend  upon 
its  theology  or  its  institutions,  but  upon  the 
facts  of  experience.  Just  as  science,  long  a 
captive  to  dogmatic  hypothesis,  broke  the 
chains  of  bondage  and  found  its  freedom  in 
induction  from  concrete  facts,  so  religion  is 
breaking  away  from  the  deductions  of  dog- 
matic theology  and  is  finding  its  freedom 
in  the  facts  of  religious  experience. 


ill 


ETHICS  OF  HUMAN  NATURE 


Everything  is  what  it  is  by  the  immuta- 
bility of  its  own  nature,  and  so  virtue  and 
vice. — Cudworth. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
STANDARD  OF  MORALS 

The  science  of  ethics  judges  human  con- 
duct by  certain  generally  accepted  stand- 
ards of  rectitude.  While  these  standards 
must  have  the  intellectual  approval  of  men, 
they  are  also  submitted  for  verification  to 
the  intuitive  sense  of  right  before  they  can 
be  accepted.  Whatever  development  the 
religious  capacity  of  the  soul  has  attained, 
there  is  always  a  feeling  of  right  or  wrong 
in  an  act  which  gives  its  verdict  in  the  case. 
This  sanctioning  power  is  held  by  some 
moralists  to  be  the  meaning  of  conscience. 
Whatever  the  standard  of  morality  one 
adopts,  he  feels  an  imperative  authority  in- 
truding on  his  consciousness  which  declares 
that  some  acts  are  right  and  some  wrong. 

But  why  should  there  be  any  standard  of 
morals?  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  many 
different    answers   given   the    question    by 

115 


HUMAN  NATURE 

social  moralists.  The  Hebrew  says  that  we 
should  be  moral  because  "it  is  the  will  of 
God."  Marcus  Aurelius  says  because  "it 
is  according  to  my  nature  to  be  right." 
Thomas  Reid  in  his  Essays  bases  morality 
on  the  moral  sense  or  faculty  of  mind  that 
imperatively  obliges  us  to  be  moral.  Im- 
manuel  Kant  finds  a  "categorical  impera- 
tive" in  the  soul  that  compels  this.  William 
Paley  in  his  Moral  and  Political  Philosophy 
defines  virtue  as  doing  good  to  mankind, 
according  to  the  "will  of  God,"  for  the  sake 
of  "everlasting  happiness,"  this  happiness 
being  thus  the  end  of  morality. 

When  we  reach  John  Stuart  Mill  we  have 
a  revival  of  utilitarianism  from  experience. 
The  substance  of  the  theory  is  that  "the 
useful  is  the  right";  and  the  formula  of  the 
theory  is,  "Be  moral,  that  you  may  be  use- 
ful," morality  being  thus  made  a  means  to 
utility  as  the  end.  Herbert  Spencer  in  his 
Data  of  Ethics  assumes  pleasure  to  be  the 
end  of  morals ;  and  his  formula  is,  "Be  moral 
that  you  may  be  happy."  But  human  nature 
is  never  satisfied  with  a  morality  which  is 

116 


STANDARD  OF  MORALS 

based  upon  selfish  considerations  only,  and 
which  is  but  a  means  to  some  selfish  end. 
Why  be  happy  rather  than  moral?  So  the 
nineteenth  century  opens  with  a  new  theory 
which  makes  morality  an  end  in  itself. 

But  Francis  Herbert  Bradley  asks  of  the 
theory  the  very  pertinent  question,  "Why 
not  be  virtuous  rather  than  be  happy,  unless 
virtue  is  happiness?"  Yet  happiness  is  not 
a  virtue  but  a  feeling.  Why  base  morality 
on  that  which  has  no  moral  quality?  This 
question  he  discusses  fully,  and  finds  that 
morality  is  an  end  in  itself.  Then,  asking 
what  we  mean  by  "an  end  in  itself,"  he 
answers:  "A  moral  act  carries  the  motive  of 
the  act  along  in  the  acting.  That  motive  is 
the  thing,  the  end,  to  be  realized.  Is  it  not 
rather  to  be  a  somewhat  in  ourselves — a 
character?  My  own  character  is  the  why." 
Thomas  Hill  Green  follows  up  this  answer 
of  Bradley's  by  saying:  "Morality  requires 
a  personal  agent.  The  character  of  society 
is  made  up  of  persons.  The  ideal  of  char- 
acter is  always  personal  worth.  Ideal 
morality  exists  only  in  individual  morality. 

117 


HUMAN  NATURE 

Social  morality  is  in  a  realization  of  per- 
sonal ethical  character."  This  fact  confirms 
the  doctrine  of  Bradley  to  the  effect  that 
"morality  is  an  end  in  itself."  The  question, 
Why  should  I  be  moral?  is  a  question  of 
personal  worth. 

So  the  Christian  ethics  of  the  twentieth 
century  considers  the  motivity  of  acts  in 
judging  of  their  morality.  This  is  the 
proposition  of  James  Martineau  in  his 
Types  of  Ethical  Theory.  He  deals  with 
the  inner  springs  of  action.  The  authority 
of  conscience  is  an  authority  that  springs 
from  a  law  of  right,  implanted  in  the  con- 
stitution of  man  by  the  infinite  Energy  of 
Life.  The  Christian's  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion, "Why  should  I  be  moral?"  is  the  reply, 
"I  am  bound  by  this  law  within  me  to  obey 
its  imperative  mandates."  Thus  we  reach 
the  highest  ethical  character.  It  is  the  su- 
preme development  of  the  religious  capacity. 
It  is  the  attainment  of  that  worthiness 
wherein  God  can  trust  one  to  do  large  work 
for  humanity.  Upon  such  a  one  God  lays 
great  obligations,  knowing  he  will  not  shrink 

118 


STANDARD  OF  MORALS 

from  them,  but  will  at  least  attempt  to  meet 
them. 

In  all  this  we  have  considered  morality 
in  its  application  to  one's  personal  obliga- 
tions. But  it  has  a  much  wider  range  of 
application  than  to  the  individual.  The 
morality  of  social  life  is  more  complex,  and 
covers  many  duties  which  do  not  immedi- 
ately originate  with  the  individual.  This  we 
must  reserve  for  special  consideration. 


119 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
AUTHORITY  IN  CONSCIENCE 

Whence  does  conscience  derive  its 
authority?  Why  do  we  feel  obliged  to  act 
in  one  way  rather  than  in  another?  If  there 
is  any  authority  in  the  feeling  of  obliga- 
tion, it  must  be  a  universal  authority  apply- 
ing to  every  one  alike  and  hence  an  authority 
that  no  one  can  rightly  reject.  Without 
these  conditions  there  can  be  no  universal 
law  of  moral  conduct.  But  in  what  consists 
the  difference  between  a  moral  law  and  any 
other  law  of  sequence?  Is  it  not  in  this  that 
a  moral  order  of  sequence  involves  a  moral 
quality  of  intention  to  do  right  or  wrong? 
This  implies  both  intelligence  and  will  in 
the  actor. 

The   idea   of   right   arises   when   one   is 

solicited  by  any  motive  to  do  an  act.  Before 

that  idea  of  right  or  wrong  arises  in  the  soul 

there  is  some  intelligent  knowledge  of  a  rela- 

120 


AUTHORITY  IN  CONSCIENCE 

tion  with  another  person.  The  conception 
of  such  a  relation  is  the  occasion  of  the  feel- 
ing, "I  ought"  or  "I  ought  not";  and  when 
the  relation  changes  the  feeling  changes. 
This  feeling  arises  when  the  relation  is  per- 
ceived, and  not  before.  It  is  admitted  that 
when  the  felt  obligation  is  repeatedly  vio- 
lated the  feeling  diminishes  until  the  sense 
of  right  is  but  feebly  felt;  but  this  does  not 
prove  that  the  feeling  is  not  universal.  Nor 
does  it  imply  that  the  capacity  to  feel  the 
"ought"  is  not  constitutional. 

Obedience  to  the  impulse  to  fulfill  the 
obligation  is  always  followed  by  a  feeling 
of  self-approval.  From  experience  we  infer 
the  law  that  every  voluntary  act,  done  with 
an  intention  to  fulfill  the  felt  obligation  to 
another  person,  is  accompanied  by  a  sense 
of  right.  But  why  does  such  a  feeling  arise? 
The  many  theories  of  morals  acknowledge 
it,  and  each  tries  to  find  its  origin.  Pro- 
fessor Ladd  says:  "The  development  of  the 
intellect  and  will  is  involved  in  the  rise  and 
growth  of  the  moral  sentiment  of  obligation. 
The  intellect  must  hold  up  in  imagination 

121 


HUMAN  NATURE 

the  deed  or  conduct  and  anticipate  the  end 
to  be  realized  as  a  motive.  The  sentiment  of 
moral  approval  or  disapproval  follows  the 
contemplation  of  the  deed.  Here  the  con- 
nection between  the  judgment  and  moral 
feeling  is  in  the  very  nature  of  moral  reason. 
What  I  judge  right  that  I  must  do,  and 
what  I  must  do  that  I  must  approve." 

Now,  the  main  objection  to  this  deliver- 
ance is  that  it  is  not  a  universal  experience. 
We  sometimes  judge  that  to  be  rationally 
correct  which  we  sentimentally  disapprove. 
Another  theory  is  that  of  Herbert  Spencer, 
who  says:  "The  feelings  of  approval  and 
disapproval  rise  from  acts  that  are  pleasur- 
able or  displeasurable."  But  this  is  not 
universally  true,  for  many  persons  approve 
of  acts  that  are  not  pleasurable  and  dis- 
approve of  acts  that  are  pleasurable.  Pro- 
fessor Bain,  in  his  article  on  Moral  Sense, 
says:  "Conscience  within  us  is  an  imitation 
of  the  government  without  us.  The  first 
lesson  of  a  child  is  obedience  to  the  authority 
of  some  person.  It  is  a  lesson  of  dread  of 
punishment.    The  authority  of  conscience  is 

122 


AUTHORITY  IN  CONSCIENCE 

a  feeling  of  dread  of  punishment.  The 
agony  of  remorse  is  the  apprehension  of 
punishment.  The  power  that  imposes  the 
obligation  is  law  and  society." 

Without  following  out  the  many  theories 
of  morals,  we  may  assume  the  agreement  of 
all  fair-minded  persons  that  a  moral  sense, 
universally  applicable  to  men,  must  inhere 
in  the  constitution  of  the  soul. 

The  consciousness  of  right  as  a  universal 
law  of  action  must  be  grounded  in  some  law 
written  large  in  the  constitution  of  the 
human  soul.  It  must  be  a  law  of  equity 
which  commands  the  obedience  of  all  men 
alike,  in  all  stages  of  human  life.  We  can- 
not define  it  in  set  terms;  it  needs  no  such 
definition.  It  is  more  than  a  knowledge  of 
right;  it  is  an  authority  that  spontaneously 
commands  the  conduct  to  conform  with  the 
equity  in  every  case.  It  is  a  quality  of  soul 
life,  a  capacity  to  know  the  right,  and  a  felt 
obligation  to  do  it.  It  has  authority  in  itself 
to  command  righteousness,  just  as  the  capac- 
ity of  religiousness  commands  us  to  wor- 
ship.    All  statutory  laws  of  morality  are 

123 


HUMAN  NATURE 

assumed  to  be  based  on  this  inner  law  of 
equity,  and  the  moralities  of  ethnic  religions 
have  their  spring  from  this  same  source. 

Conscience  is  its  "court  of  record,"  wherein 
its  decisions  are  recorded  for  future  prece- 
dence. But,  as  conscience  is  subject  to  its 
environment,  it  may  be  biased  in  its  record- 
ing. Hence  the  large  variety  of  men's  ex- 
periences, in  their  varying  environments, 
form  the  basis  for  conflicting  theories  of 
moral  right.  It  is  often  asked  if  the  moral 
sense  is  the  final  arbiter.  Are  there  no  other 
and  higher  sanctions  of  moral  conduct? 
Certainly  there  must  be.  For  how  can  social 
order  be  maintained  unless  there  are  some 
superior  courts  to  which  men  are  respon- 
sible? Society  is  a  court  for  the  trial  of 
moral  conduct  to  whose  decisions  private 
conscience  must  yield  in  matters  of  social 
life.  And,  beyond  and  above  society,  there 
are  divine  imperatives  whose  sanctions  must 
give  the  final  decision  for  all  human  conduct. 


124 


CHAPTER  XIX 
DIVINE  IMPERATIVES  ON  MAN 

God's  imperatives  are  laid  on  each  man. 
They  cannot  be  thrust  upon  mankind  and 
the  individual  be  excused.  Man  and  man- 
kind are  abstract  or  composite  terms,  repre- 
senting the  race  of  men;  they  are  concep- 
tions of  what  we  call  "society,"  and  are  used 
to  denote  humanity.  But  God  holds  each 
individual  responsible,  and  not  mankind. 
His  presence  enforces  this  responsibility  in 
consciousness,  and  sets  up  his  imperatives  in 
published  decrees  as  well. 

"Have  dominion"  was  the  primary  im- 
perative, given  to  the  first  man;  and  it  is 
repeated  to  each  soul  that  comes  into  per- 
sonal estate.  "Have  control  of  thyself," 
this  means,  "and  of  all  nature  below  thee." 
Every  sane  soul  is  born  in  the  lineage  of 
rulers,  by  divine  right.  He  can  never  escape 
from  the  personal  obligation  of  governor- 

125 


HUMAN  NATURE 

ship,  though  he  may  disqualify  himself  for 
the  task.  To  the  full  extent  of  the  ability 
given  him  in  the  quality  of  his  soul-life  he 
must  do  his  part  in  this  government.  The 
sense  of  this  responsibility  is  instinctive  in 
the  constitution  of  the  soul. 

"Be  fruitful  and  multiply"  is  an  order  as 
imperative  as  the  former.  The  sense  of  this 
obligation  inheres  in  consciousness.  Human- 
ity is  the  enlargement  of  the  individual  man 
into  many  who  constitute  society.  He  does 
not  merge  his  individualism  into  humanity, 
but  multiplies  it  in  the  multitude.  The 
multiplication  does  not  divide  up  the  respon- 
sibility and  make  it  less  for  each,  but,  rather, 
enlarges  the  field  of  his  activity  and  increases 
his  range  of  dominion.  To  self-government 
is  added  the  mutual  government  of  all. 
Service  is  added  to  dominion. 

"Thou  shalt"  and  "Thou  shalt  not"  are 
imperatives  commanding  obedience  to  the 
moral  law  of  humanity;  and  they  denote 
also  the  authoritative  presence  of  a  moral 
sense,  inherent  in  the  constitution  of  every 
soul.     They  are  more  than  the  arbitrary 

126 


DIVINE  IMPERATIVES  ON  MAN 

decrees  of  a  lawgiver;  they  are  the  limita- 
tions and  restrictions  put  on  a  finite  being 
in  the  exercise  of  dominion.  They  are  as 
necessary  for  the  self-government  of  the  in- 
dividual as  they  are  for  the  mutual  govern- 
ment of  the  multiple  individuals  in  society. 
Self-government  is  always  by  self-denial  and 
restriction  of  personal  desires;  and  social 
government  is  only  safe  and  helpful  by 
social  restrictions  and  limitations.  Human- 
ity as  society  can  only  be  governed  by 
mutual  self-denial. 

These  imperatives,  revealed  in  conscious- 
ness, are  both  the  charter  of  society  and  the 
tribunal  of  ultimate  authority  in  its  govern- 
ment. Society  is  not  the  herding  together 
of  gregarious  numbers  of  humanity  nor  is 
it  the  surrender  of  the  personal  obligation 
of  each  to  an  irresponsible  mass ;  but  it  is  an 
organized  republic  where  each  individual  is 
to  be  regarded  as  a  personal  power  under 
the  law  of  self-denial.  The  sense  of  right 
jn  the  feeling  of  "ought"  organizes  indi- 
viduals into  families  and  governments.  It 
is  not  compact  that  drives  individuals  into 

127 


HUMAN  NATURE 

organized  communities,  nor  the  necessity  of 
the  mutual  protection  of  personal  rights 
only;  it  is  the  dynamic  presence  of  God 
that  gathers  individuals  into  organized 
societies.  These  imperatives,  enforced  in 
consciousness,  force  man  into  humanity. 

The  study  of  comparative  religions  fur- 
nishes evidence  that  different  standards  of 
morality  attend  the  development  of  the  reli- 
gious capacity.  Beginning  with  the  He- 
brews, we  find  with  them  a  code  of  morals 
named  "the  Ten  Commandments."  This 
code  contained  the  germ  of  the  idea  which 
every  moralist  has  used  since  Moses.  But 
the  standard  of  right  was  original  and 
unique,  differing  from  that  of  all  other 
races.  The  "will  of  God,"  as  made  known 
to  the  Hebrews  by  seers  and  prophets,  was 
that  standard  of  right;  and  the  task  of  the 
prophet  was  to  put  the  message  into  the 
language  of  his  times  for  the  use  of  the 
people.  Turning  to  the  Greek  moralists, 
we  find  a  different  code.  The  good  was  the 
standard  of  conduct;  that  is,  "the  good  for 
something."    The  beautiful  and  the  useful 

128 


DIVINE  IMPERATIVES  ON  MAN 

had  the  right  of  way  in  human  life.  Moral- 
ity was  a  means  to  an  end,  and  this  cult  con- 
tinued in  the  history  of  moral  evolution. 
The  standard  of  conduct  became  more  and 
more  psychological,  as  the  will  of  the  Divine 
became  more  clarified  from  superstition.  It 
is  remarkable  how  readily  Christianity 
united  both  Hebrew  and  Greek  conceptions 
of  morality.  The  school  of  theology  at 
Alexandria  was  a  composite  of  both  philos- 
ophies. The  sanctions  of  morality  were 
divine,  while  the  grounds  of  morality  were 
based  in  utility.  This  fact  is  apparent  in 
the  long  discussions  that  followed  regarding 
the  standards  of  moral  duty. 

In  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  we  find 
an  altogether  different  standard  of  morality 
set  forth.  He  accepted  the  Hebrew  con- 
ception of  the  "will  of  God"  as  the  sanction- 
ing power  of  moral  convictions,  but  he  inter- 
preted that  will  in  a  different  way.  God's 
"righteousness"  was  fair  dealing  with  men, 
and  he  required  that  men  should  so  deal  with 
one  another.  He  fused  the  Ten  Command- 
ments into  a  law  of  equity.    Love  was  more 

129 


HUMAN  NATURE 

than  an  affection;  it  was  equitable  action. 
"Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself" 
was  treated  by  him  as  meaning,  "Thou  shalt 
treat  thy  neighbor  in  dealing  with  him  as 
thou  treatest  thyself,  or  as  thou  would  have 
thy  neighbor  treat  thee."  Hence  the  Golden 
Rule  became  the  formula  of  equity  in  action. 
But  love  carries  with  it  the  obligation  of  fair 
dealing.  So  the  affection  of  God  for  the 
race  involved  the  obligation  to  do  all  he 
could  to  help  it;  he  "so  loved"  it  that  he  sent 
his  Son  to  save  it.  This  equity,  we  repeat, 
is  God's  "righteousness."  Paul  declares  that 
"love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  Jesus 
also  put  himself  under  this  law  of  equity 
jn  all  his  life  service,  for  we  hear  him  ask- 
ing, "Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suffered?" 
His  whole  ministry  of  service  and  his  death 
in  behalf  of  man  were  only  the  meeting  of 
his  obligation  under  the  law  of  equity. 

In  what  respect  are  Christian  ethics  dif- 
ferent from  the  ethics  of  the  Hebrew  and 
the  Greek?  If  we  turn  to  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  we  find  at  least  one  new  and  different 
principle.    His  ethics  include  the  consolida- 

130 


DIVINE  IMPERATIVES  ON  MAN 

tion  of  all  the  virtues  in  a  finished  manhood, 
after  the  model  of  his  character.  Wherever 
we  open  the  Gospels,  especially  the  synop- 
tics, we  are  in  the  presence  of  a  teacher  of 
morality.  Whatever  the  subject  of  the  hour, 
the  application  of  the  parable  or  sermon  was 
the  enforcement  of  ethical  principles.  In 
the  study  of  Jesus's  teachings  we  are  met 
at  once  and  always  with  the  proposition  that 
human  life  is  to  be  estimated  by  the  moral 
virtues  which  sum  up  in  ethical  character. 
All  things  are  means  to  this  end.  A  man's 
regeneration,  sanctification,  and  education 
all  subserve  this  one  purpose;  the  highest 
attainment  in  the  Christian  life  is  a  holy 
character,  and  the  atoning  mediation  of 
Christ  is  to  promote  this  result. 

In  proof  of  this  proposition  we  may  note 
three  special  divisions  in  his  teachings: 
(1)  He  spoke  of  duty.  This  word  implies 
rules  or  principles  of  action  proceeding 
from  an  authority  that  has  power  to  en- 
force its  commands.  Jesus  commences  his 
ministry  by  a  long  sermon  on  duty,  or  the 
moralities  of  human  life.     He  takes  the 

131 


HUMAN  NATURE 

Decalogue  and,  without  lessening  its  autKor- 
itative  force,  fuses  it  into  a  law  of  equitable 
love.  Duty  is  simply  the  fulfilling  of  this 
law.  (2)  But  duty  carries  with  it  a  blessed- 
ness in  ethical  service.  The  ethics  of  Jesus 
include  ample  compensations  for  all  labor 
and  self-denial.  In  this  particular  he  rises 
infinitely  above  the  Hebrew  idea  of  morality 
and  that  of  classical  thought ;  and  herein  we 
find  the  beauty  and  originality  of  his  teach- 
ings above  that  of  all  other  moralists.  He 
shows,  in  other  words,  that  the  "supreme 
good"  of  the  moralists  and  the  summum 
bonum  of  the  scholastics  are  found  only  in 
meeting  the  self-denying  tasks  imposed  by 
duty.  The  whole  end  of  human  life  is  in- 
volved in  the  hard  service  we  perform;  but 
obedience  to  the  imperative  rules  of  right 
living  leads  to  happiness.  The  blessedness 
promised  in  the  Beatitudes  is  closely  linked 
with  the  fulfillment  of  the  obligation;  the 
compensation  is  not  something  that  shall 
follow  in  some  indefinite  time,  but  definitely 
accompanies  the  duty  done.     (3)  So  another 

teaching  of  Jesus  is  that  moral  culture  is  the 

132 


DIVINE  IMPERATIVES  ON  MAN 

human  method  of  promoting  the  highest 
development  in  religiousness.  Our  conten- 
tion is  that  the  highest  good,  the  supreme 
happiness,  the  "kingdom  of  heaven,"  is 
reached  through  the  moralities  of  human 
life;  and  this  for  the  simple  reason  that  all 
divine  energies  and  agencies  coordinate  with 
these  moralities  in  the  development  of  char- 
acter. Eternal  life  is  not  an  arbitrary  be- 
stowment,  but  consists,  as  Jesus  said,  in 
knowing  God  and  the  Christ  who  has  been 
sent.  And  this  means  knowing  God  not 
merely  by  perception  or  rational  inference, 
but  through  experimental  acquaintance  with 
him  and  becoming  like  him  in  character. 


133 


VI 


CIVIC  CHARACTER  OF  HUMAN 
NATURE 


The  history  of  civilization  is  the  history 
of  the  progress  of  the  human  race  toward 
realizing  the  idea  of  humanity. — Guizot, 


CHAPTER  XX 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  HUMAN 
CIVILIZATION 

The  civilization  of  human  nature  has 
been,  like  its  religion  and  its  intelligence, 
gradually  developed  from  the  beginning  of 
man's  existence.  The  fragments  of  ancient 
literature  that  have  escaped  the  "tooth  of 
time"  afford  but  a  glimpse  of  that  process. 
If  we  take  the  Hebrew  record,  which  gives 
us  legends  of  the  antediluvian  times,  we 
get  only  a  dark  picture  of  barbarism  until 
after  the  Flood,  when  a  new  world  starts  in ; 
and  even  after  the  Flood  the  records  of  the 
races  are  too  fragmentary  to  base  any 
system  of  development  upon.  These  frag- 
ments give  us  a  view  of  racial  beginnings, 
something  of  their  religion,  and  the  form 
of  their  language,  but  they  fail  to  afford  a 
clue  to  their  manners  and  customs — which 
constitute  the  ethos  of  the  people.    Only  in 

137 


HUMAN  NATURE 

later  history  are  these  features  of  civilization 
recorded. 

The  characteristics  of  an  ideal  civilization 
are  in  evidence.  The  bond  of  union  between 
men  must  be  stronger  than  simply  a  con- 
tract for  mutual  protection  from  enemies; 
it  must  be  a  sympathetic  one,  which  means 
the  bearing  of  the  yoke  together.  The 
customs  that  prevail  and  that  crystallize 
into  law  must  bear  upon  all  alike.  Language 
must  be  developed  to  a  clearness  that  makes 
its  interpretation  easy  to  every  grade  of  in- 
telligence. Business  transactions  must  be 
based  upon  equity,  giving  each  an  equal 
chance  for  success  in  life.  Civil  government 
must  be  administered  with  just  regard  for 
the  personal  rights  of  all.  And  last,  but  not 
least,  the  religion  of  an  enduring  civiliza- 
tion must  be  broad  enough  to  take  all  into 
fellowship.  Such  is  the  ideal  civilization 
under  which  human  nature  may  prosper. 

The  foundation  of  society  is  the  family. 
The  history  of  civilization,  however,  begins 
with  the  formation  of  tribal  society.  Among 
the  first  questions  to  be  settled  are:  What 

138 


HUMAN  CIVILIZATION 

is  the  relation  of  intelligence  to  labor;  what 
regulations  are  necessary  to  harmonize  the 
distribution  of  productions;  who  shall  govern 
this  distribution,  each  laborer  or  some  repre- 
sentative of  the  whole?  The  feudal  lord 
was  the  first  representative  to  be  selected, 
on  account  of  his  fitness  or  by  the  exercise 
of  might.  But  feudalism  immediately 
divided  the  people  into  two  classes — the 
governing  and  the  governed.  It  settled  into 
monarchy;  monarchy  became  a  hereditary 
system,  breeding  a  class  of  aristocrats  who 
assumed  to  be  of  purer  blood  by  the  favor 
of  God;  the  people  lost  autonomy  and  be- 
came laborers  of  inferior  rank.  The  civil- 
ization so  erected  was  good  or  bad  according 
to  the  character  of  the  governing  power; 
but  a  feudal  policy  did  not  build  up  an  ideal 
social  life.  In  time  a  renaissance  occurred. 
Intelligence  came  to  the  aid  of  humanity, 
and  provoked  a  revolution  of  thought.  Free 
manhood  regained  its  lost  autonomy;  reli- 
gion returned  to  its  allegiance,  as  the  lost 
right  of  the  common  people;  and  a  new 
civilization  was  born. 

139 


HUMAN  NATURE 

In  this  new  social  order  human  nature 
proclaimed  as  the  basis  of  organization  not 
an  equality  of  original  capacity  nor  an 
equality  of  developed  capacity,  but  an 
equality  of  right  to  "life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness."  This  meant  its 
claim  to  an  equal  chance  to  live  according 
to  its  own  ability,  native  or  acquired.  Each 
man,  according  to  its  view,  was  equal  to 
any  other  before  the  law,  and  was  entitled 
to  the  same  protection  by  the  law,  the  law 
itself  being  the  voice  of  equity.  If  we  take 
the  New  England  social  life,  with  its  declara- 
tion of  inherited  equality,  as  a  type  of  this 
new  order,  we  find  that  its  foundations  were 
laid  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  language,  a  largely 
developed  intellectualism,  and  a  purified 
religion.  With  these  elements  it  began  to 
build  its  political  and  civil  life  in  small 
settlements  on  the  accepted  sentiment  that 
every  man  behaving  himself  with  propriety 
was  equal  to  any  other  man.  Their  town 
organization  was  a  self -determining  democ- 
racy and  a  miniature  republic  combined. 
The  settlers  were  neither  lords  nor  common 

140 


HUMAN  CIVILIZATION 

vassals,  neither  rich  nor  poor.  Their  Anglo- 
Saxon  language  was  the  most  virile  speech 
in  the  world;  their  religion  had  been  puri- 
fied in  the  fire  of  persecution;  and  they 
gathered  in  small  communities  on  equal 
terms.  Their  laws  were  enacted  by  viva 
voce  vote,  and  were  put  into  the  hands  of 
their  own  selected  representatives  for  exe- 
cution; and  when  it  became  necessary  to 
confederate  into  a  state  there  remained  the 
germ  of  the  independent  town  meeting. 
New  England  townships  were  organized 
and  their  autonomy  recognized  as  early  as 
1640;  and  the  order  of  organization  was 
first  the  township,  then  the  county,  then  the 
State,  and  lastly  the  Union. 

In  the  nature  of  things,  this  civilization 
based  upon  the  New  England  doctrine  of 
equal  rights  for  all  men  alike  must  be  tested 
by  every  possible  strain,  that  its  strength  and 
staying  qualities  might  be  appreciated.  This 
came  in  a  long  Civil  War.  A  Southern 
civilization,  having  the  spirit  of  the  Old 
World  feudalism,  attempted  the  overthrow 
of  the  former  social  order  and  the  setting  up 

141 


HUMAN  NATURE 

of  a  universal  feudalism  in  America.  But 
the  virile  spirit  of  "equal  rights"  met  and 
forever  eliminated  it.  The  "people,"  who 
had  laid  the  foundation  of  the  republic  in  the 
"inalienable  rights"  of  man,  proved  their 
power  of  self-government.  The  republic  is 
a  representative  democracy;  and  this  fact 
of  delegated  authority,  in  which  the  sover- 
eignty of  each  centers  in  a  representative 
holding  the  authority  of  all,  constitutes  the 
uniqueness  of  American  civilization. 

Yet  human  nature  seeks  for  a  civilization 
that  will  unite  all  races  in  a  sympathetic 
brotherhood,  and  there  is  promise  of  this 
through  the  agency  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
language  and  the  Christian  religion.  The 
former  is  already  the  language  of  the  world's 
commerce,  and  carries  with  it  the  seeds  of 
a  common  civilization;  Christianity  in  its 
propaganda  has  for  its  prime  object  the 
unifying  of  all  races,  and  toward  this  end 
human  nature  is  gradually  moving.  Just 
here  we  are  confronted  with  danger  signals, 
in  our  boast  of  the  New  England  civiliza- 
tion.    Competitive  interests  have  combined 

142 


HUMAN  CIVILIZATION 

in  tyrannical  "trusts"  and  "monopolies," 
which  threaten  the  welfare  of  individuals 
and  menace  civilization  itself.  Two  of  the 
most  formidable  of  these  are  the  political 
machine  and  the  liquor  monopoly.  But  to 
meet  the  tyranny  of  the  first  the  American 
citizen  is  evoking  his  sovereign  power  in  the 
initiative,  the  referendum,  and  the  recall, 
which  measures,  when  fully  at  work,  promise 
to  save  our  civilization.  Signs  there  also 
are  of  the  final  overthrow  of  the  liquor  trust. 
When  this  gigantic  evil,  like  that  of 
American  slavery,  shall  be  abolished,  the 
minor  dangers  arising  from  our  policies  will 
easily  be  met.  Our  ideal  civilization  is  prov- 
ing its  virility  and  worth. 


143 


CHAPTER  XXI 
THE  IDEAL  WORLD-LIFE 

The  unity  of  human  nature  implies  a 
unity  of  life.  Such  an  experience  for 
humanity  has  been  the  dream  of  all  prophecy 
and  the  end  of  all  evolution.  History  has 
been  a  record  of  anticipations  for  future 
conditions  of  living  better  than  the  present, 
and  the  ideals  of  one  age  when  realized  have 
created  new  ideals  for  further  realization. 
The  present  life  of  humanity  is  the  heritage 
of  past  struggles  to  realize  successive  ideals. 
A  new  world  has  been  created,  and  we  live 
in  it.  This  is  the  socialistic  law  of  progress. 
The  pioneer  of  thought,  like  the  pioneer  of 
new  settlements,  is  led  out  beyond  the 
frontier  of  established  customs.  He  cuts 
his  way  through  the  thickets  of  conserva- 
tive ideas,  and  opens  up  a  new  vista  leading 
toward  something  better  and  grander. 

Beginning  with  historic  days,  we  note  the 

144 


THE  IDEAL  WORLD-LIFE 

Greek  ideals  of  human  life.  The  earliest 
conception  of  an  ideal  world-life  is  given  in 
Plato's  Republic.  It  is  the  conception  of 
an  organized  community  in  which  no  man 
calls  anything  his  own  exclusively,  but  he 
himself  and  all  he  has  in  possession  belongs 
to  the  state.  Kings  are  philosophers,  and 
philosophers  are  kings.  The  principal  ques- 
tion is,  What  is  justice,  and  how  adminis- 
tered? The  state  is  the  reality  of  which 
justice  is  the  idea.  The  individual  is  lost 
sight  of  in  the  unity  of  an  ideal  life  that 
has  no  real  existence.  But  this  ideal  is  not 
a  social  organization  in  which  all  classes  are 
harmonized  and  have  equal  rights;  it  is, 
rather,  a  commtmity  of  aristocrats  in  which 
the  working  class  fades  away  and  is  only 
represented  in  the  common  passions  of  man- 
kind. The  Greek  ideal  life  is  the  life  of 
the  philosopher,  the  poet,  the  ruler  of  the 
populace. 

The  Hebrew  ideal  world-life  is  recorded 
by  the  prophets  and  poets  of  Israel.  It  was 
the  conception  of  a  Messianic  age  wherein 
universal  peace  should  prevail.     This  was 

145 


HUMAN  NATURE 

symbolized  in  the  saying  that  "the  wolf  and 
the  lamb  shall  feed  together."  It  was  to 
be  a  restoration  of  the  prosperous  reign  of 
Solomon  in  a  larger  degree.  The  Messiah 
should  come  and  deliver  his  people  from  all 
oppression ;  he  should  set  up  again  the  throne 
of  David,  and  the  nation  should  be  the  ruling 
power  in  the  earth. 

The  ideal  world-life  of  Jesus  was  ex- 
pressed in  the  term  "kingdom  of  God." 
This  was  a  spiritualization  of  the  Hebrew 
conception  of  the  Messianic  reign,  which  had 
become  materialized  into  a  political  regimen 
and  involved  a  revolution  against  the  Roman 
power.  But  Jesus  taught  that  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  "a  character  kingdom,"  to  be 
realized  in  social  life.  He,  the  living  Christ, 
was  to  be  the  inspiring  head  and  power  of 
its  government,  and  a  reign  of  universal 
peace  should  take  the  place  of  the  old  war 
regime.  The  economic  conditions  of  this  re- 
public would  give  each  a  fair  deal.  His 
disciples  were  commanded  to  be  world-wide 
missionaries,  and  were  not  to  halt  till  every 
human  being  had  been  taught  the  principles 

146 


THE  IDEAL  WORLD-LIFE 

of  his  kingdom.  This  hope  of  a  Messianic 
conquest  was  for  a  time  crushed  by  the  un- 
timely death  of  Jesus.  His  resurrection 
restored  confidence,  and  his  disciples  started 
out  with  an  earnest  hope  of  converting  the 
world  to  his  principles.  But  the  opposition 
and  persecution  they  met  made  them  despair 
of  realizing  the  kingdom  on  this  earth. 
From  being  world-conquerors  they  became 
"strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the  earth"  seek- 
ing a  better  country,  even  a  heavenly.  The 
social  ideal  of  the  prophets  and  of  Jesus, 
and  the  "New  Jerusalem"  representing  the 
"kingdom"  was  transferred  to  a  future  exist- 
ence. A  heaven  of  rest  from  toil  and  perse- 
cution became  the  end  of  the  Christian  life. 
On  the  reorganization  of  Christianity  in 
the  fourth  century  new  ideals  of  the  king- 
dom were  formed.  The  effort  was  made  to 
return  to  the  social  conception  of  Jesus  by 
putting  the  world-life  under  the  rule  of 
authority,  after  the  model  of  imperial  Rome. 
Constantine  adopted  Christianity  as  the 
national  religion,  and  incorporated  some  of 
its  principles  into  his  policy.     Augustine 

147 


HUMAN  NATURE 

with  the  bishop  of  Rome  arranged  for  the 
conference  of  Christian  institutions  with  this 
alliance.  Christianity  became  a  world- 
power,  and  with  the  cross  as  its  emblem  went 
forth  to  establish  a  world-kingdom.  The 
ideal  "kingdom  of  God"  was  again  trans- 
ferred to  this  world,  but  was  changed  to  a 
political  hierarchy  with  the  pope  as  world- 
emperor.  The  missionary  propaganda  was 
not  so  much  to  promote  character  as  to 
establish  authority.  Rapidly  Christianity 
conquered  nations,  and  made  kings  and 
people  subjects  of  Rome.  With  the  cross 
and  the  sword  it  cleaved  its  way  to  universal 
empire.  But  its  hostile  and  dominating  atti- 
tude excited  the  wrath  of  other  religions, 
and,  using  the  same  weapons,  they  met  and 
halted  Christianity  in  its  progress.  It  was 
driven  from  Asia,  its  original  home,  by 
Buddhism,  and  from  Africa  by  Moham- 
medanism— though  it  took  Europe  by 
storm. 

Then  came  the  modern  ideals  of  human 
life.  Notwithstanding  the  good  qualities  of 
Romanism,  human  nature  could  not  endure 

148 


THE  IDEAL  WORLD-LIFE 

its  enslaving  authority.  The  Reformation 
under  Luther  was  not  only  a  revolt  from 
offensive  authority  but  more  emphatically  a 
resurrection  of  submerged  manhood.  Since 
that  emancipation  of  manhood  there  have 
been  created  many  new  ideals  of  life,  the 
central  one  being  a  return  to  the  social  king- 
dom of  Jesus.  "  Other- worldliness"  was  not 
his  teaching.  He  labored  to  get  men  to 
live  right  in  this  world,  with  the  assurance 
that  they  would  then  be  fit  to  live  in  any 
world.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  laying 
down  the  standard  of  moral  conduct;  his 
parables  illustrating  the  method  of  realizing 
his  kingdom;  the  regeneration  of  heart 
taught  Nicodemus  as  a  requisite  for  entering 
that  kingdom — all  had  as  their  end  in  per- 
fecting a  social  kingdom  of  character.  The 
results  of  all  this  discipline  were  not  to  be 
deferred  to  a  life  after  death,  but  were, 
rather,  to  be  realized  in  this  world.  No- 
where did  Jesus  teach  otherwise.  On  the 
contrary,  in  every  discourse  the  present  life 
is  his  theme;  and  the  "place"  he  goes  to 
prepare,"  in  his  announcement  of  depart- 


HUMAN  NATURE 

lire,  is  for  those  who  are  fitted  therefor  by 
being  faithful  subjects  of  his  kingdom  here. 
It  is  clear  that  organized  Christianity,  with 
its  ideal  of  a  future  life  as  the  goal  of  human 
endeavor,  has  never  reached  the  standard  set 
in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  But  world 
conditions  are  rapidly  changing.  A  spirit 
of  sympathetic  helpfulness  is  gradually  and 
surely  taking  the  place  of  the  old-time  con- 
ceptions of  human  life.  The  idea  of  brother- 
hood, that  was  formerly  limited  to  class  or 
sect,  is  surely  enlarging  to  include  the  uni- 
fication of  humanity.  To  racial  shyness, 
which  was  largely  the  result  of  ignorance 
of  others,  is  succeeding  a  respect  for  the 
rights  of  all,  and  arbitration  is  becoming  the 
keynote  of  the  new  civilization.  The  present 
European  war  may  contain  the  very  con- 
ditions of  universal  peace,  resulting  from  the 
exhaustion  of  the  resources  of  the  nations. 
A  new  patriotism  is  in  the  throes  of  birth, 
fostered  by  the  new  national  ideals.  It  was 
a  great  advance  in  the  evolution  of  human 
nature  when  the  love  of  kin  became  tribal 
affiliation,  and  when  that  enlarged  to  the 

150 


THE  IDEAL  WORLD-LIFE 

love  of  nation.  It  is  a  far  greater  honor  to 
become  a  world-citizen,  to  be  a  cosmopolitan 
in  heart  and  in  effort  to  make  a  better  earth. 
As  for  America,  many  influences  are  at 
work  which  are  developing  the  higher  and 
broader  ideals  of  human  life.  Her  religion 
is  fostering  wider  and  more  tolerant  sym- 
pathy with  all  forms  of  Teligious  opinion, 
while  widening  the  scope  of  her  activities; 
and  the  wide  world  is  feeling  the  influence 
of  the  nobler  ideals  of  human  life. 


151 


CHAPTER  XXII 
THE  IDEAL  MANHOOD 

Ir  we  inquire  as  to  the  essential  qualities 
of  ideal  manhood,  we  shall  not  find  an  answer 
in  our  experience.  The  average  man  we 
meet  is  only  in  the  process  of  finishing.  But 
one  Man  in  all  history  has  exhibited  all  the 
qualities  which  go  to  make  up  our  ideal  of 
complete  manhood.  Yet  all  other  men  may 
achieve  something  of  this  completeness. 
However  much  we  need  the  divine  help,  it 
waits  upon  our  voluntary  acceptance.  We 
shall  be  what  we  choose  to'  be. 

To  man  God  reveals  himself  as  to  one 
who  is  kin  to  himself.  Man  breaks  out  of 
the  order  of  cosmic  sequence,  and  assumes 
the  responsibility  of  selfhood.  He  stands 
forth  the  master  of  himself  and  his  destiny. 
He  can  let  in  the  light  of  the  divine  presence 
in  holy  communion,  or  he  can  shut  out  that 
light  and  assume  the  consequences.  There 
is  no  limit  to  the  reach  of  his  potentialities. 

152 


THE  IDEAL  MANHOOD 

"It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be," 
cried  the  apostle  when  he  caught  a  vision  of 
the  celestial  possibilities ;  "but  we  know  that 
when  he  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  him, 
for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

The  primary  quality  of  the  ideal  man- 
hood is  trustworthiness.  This  is  the  basal, 
underlying  fact  in  manly  character.  All  the 
emphasis  that  can  be  laid  on  dignity  or  use- 
fulness or  happiness  centers  in  this  quality. 
If  one  cannot  trust  himself  anywhere  and 
at  any  time,  he  is  lacking  in  this  respect.  If 
other  men  do  not  trust  him,  but  turn  aside 
from  him,  and  if  instinctively  he  is  left  out 
of  their  counsels,  it  is  because  they  have  dis- 
covered his  lack.  If  God  cannot  trust  him 
with  responsibilities,  it  is  that  he  is  not 
honestly  trustworthy.  This  quality  is  the 
ground  of  honor,  integrity,  and  every  other 
manly  virtue.  The  fact  that  some  men 
possess  this  quality  is  encouragement  for  all. 
But  no  one  is  thoroughly  trustworthy  until 
by  trial  he  knows  himself  to  be  so.  A  man 
stood  on  a  narrow  steel  girder,  ten  inches  in 
thickness  and  sixty  feet  from  the  ground. 

153 


HUMAN  NATURE 

He  was  self-possessed,  and  walked  the 
length  of  the  girder  as  fearless  of  danger 
as  if  walking  on  the  ground.  How  did  he 
do  it?  He  had  tested  his  ability  to  control 
his  muscles  and  his  sensibilities  until  he 
knew  he  was  master  of  himself.  So  can 
self  become  the  master  of  every  passion,  as 
well  as  of  every  muscle  of  the  body.  This 
is  doubtless  the  purpose  and  value  of  temp- 
tation, that  we  may  learn  self-command.  By 
trial  we  come  to  know  the  measure  of  our 
trustworthiness.  "Blessed  is  the  man  that 
endureth  temptation ;  for  when  he  is  tried  he 
shall  receive" — strength. 

Another  quality  of  ideal  manhood  is  the 
disposition  to  put  ourself  on  God's  side  in 
every  moral  issue.  Every  question  has  this 
side  and  the  side  which  is  not  God's.  The 
only  right  thing  which  any  man  or  company 
of  men  can  do  is  to  find  God's  side  in  any 
moral  question,  as  certified  by  the  principles 
of  the  divine  order.  One  day  during  the 
Civil  War  a  general  said  to  President  Lin- 
coln, "Mr.  President,  I  believe  that  God  is 
on  our  side."    To  this  Mr.  Lincoln  answered, 

154 


THE  IDEAL  MANHOOD 

"I  am  not  so  much  concerned  that  God  is 
on  our  side  as  I  am  to  be  on  God's."  He 
said  to  Vice-President  Hamlin,  soon  after, 
"I  am  convinced  that  God's  side  of  this  con- 
flict requires  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves, 
and  I  have  resolved  to  issue  a  proclamation 
of  emancipation,  as  we  must  swing  the 
nation  on  God's  side."  He  did  so,  victories 
crowned  the  Union  efforts,  and  the  nation 
was  saved. 

Thus  the  summary  of  qualities  going  to 
make  up  an  ideal  manhood  is  embodied  in 
the  word  "character."  This,  said  Emerson, 
is  moral  order  seen  through  the  medium  of 
an  individual  nature.  And  it  is,  says  Smiles, 
"one  of  the  greatest  motive  powers  in  the 
world."  Genius,  indeed,  commands  admira- 
tion, but  character  secures  respect  and 
homage.  It  is  not  so  much  brain  as  heart 
power  that  rules.  Man's  life  is  centered  in 
common  duties.  There  may  be  nothing 
heroic  in  our  performance  to  attract  atten- 
tion. But  the  qualities  of  character  that 
are  most  in  demand  in  daily  life  are  the 
ones  which  constitute  the  ideal  manhood. 

155 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

DIVINE  INCARNATION  IN 
HUMAN  NATURE 

The  divine  immanence  in  human  nature  is 
an  incarnation.  In  the  beginning  of  human 
life  God  put  himself  into  humanity.  Man 
was  created  in  the  "image"  and  "likeness" 
of  the  Creator.  The  divine  energy  inhered 
in  the  psychic  nature  given  to  him.  This 
endowment  was  the  mark  that  distinguished 
man  from  all  other  creatures,  and  even  sin 
could  not  destroy  that  which  is  constitu- 
tional. 

This  divine  immanence  is  also  manifest 
when  a  soul  retires  into  his  intuitive  nature 
and  seeks  to  find  God.  This  retreat  of  the 
soul  is  the  chamber  of  prayer.  Hither  we 
must  go,  said  Jesus,  shutting  the  door  on 
the  sensuous  world  without,  to  find  audience 
with  Deity.  All  down  the  centuries  men 
have  so  found  God.  Prophets  and  seers  of 
all  races,  in  the  cultivation  of  their  religious 

156 


DIVINE  INCARNATION 

capacity,  have  there  received  the  revelations 
of  the  divine  will,  according  to  the  limits  of 
their  religious  apprehension. 

The  incarnation  of  God  in  the  person  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  manifestation  of 
the  divine  energy  far  exceeding  any  other. 
For  many  reasons  this  is  clear.  He  was 
born,  as  other  men  are  born,  of  a  woman, 
but  with  a  capacity  for  realizing  God's 
presence  far  exceeding  that  of  any  other 
man.  This  capacity  he  cultivated  from  his 
childhood,  in  synagogue  schools  and  in  com- 
munion with  the  Holy  Spirit.  Through  all 
the  silence  of  his  apprenticeship  as  a  car- 
penter he  fed  and  stimulated  that  capacity 
by  study  and  divine  communion.  On  enter- 
ing his  ministry,  at  the  age  of  thirty  years, 
he  received  a  fresh  endowment  of  the  divine 
energy,  being  filled  at  his  baptism  with  the 
Spirit.  So,  from  his  conscious  experience, 
he  could  say,  "I  and  my  Father  are  one." 
This  indwelling  of  God  made  him  the 
"Christ,"  the  Messianic  Revealer.  His 
entire  nature  was  raised  to  a  full  preparation 
for  his  ministry.    He  felt  himself  to  be  the 

157 


HUMAN  NATURE 

"Sent  of  God"  on  a  mediatorial  mission  for 
the  salvation  of  men.  But  he  also  felt  his 
natural  kinship  with  the  race,  and  called 
himself  the  "Son  of  Man."  He  wrought  his 
mighty  works  by  the  energy  of  the  indwell- 
ing Father,  distinctly  saying,  "I  do  nothing 
of  myself."  Nor  did  he  claim  to  be  the 
authority  for  his  teachings,  but  said,  "My 
doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  his  that  sent  me." 
He  never  claimed  Deityship,  but  always  was 
a  messenger  to  reveal  God  to  man.  As  a 
human  being  he  remained  in  the  class  of 
humanity.  This  fact  was  the  key  to  his 
temptation  in  the  wilderness,  where  he  finally 
settled  upon  his  lifework.  He  foresaw  that 
his  teachings  would  arouse  the  hostility  of 
his  countrymen  and  would  probably  cause 
his  early  death,  but  he  held  fast  to  his  con- 
victions of  duty.  There  arose  to  his  vision 
an  ideal  humanity,  raised  to  the  level  of  an 
inspired  union  with  God,  and  his  teachings 
led  to  that  end. 

The  purpose  of  this  review  of  the  char- 
acter of  Christ  is  not  to  discuss  the  question 
of  his  divinity.    That  he  was  and  is  divine 

158 


DIVINE  INCARNATION 

is  in  clear  evidence.  But  the  object  is  to 
illustrate  the  fact  of  the  incarnation  of  God 
in  humanity.  This  is  not  a  forceful  pos- 
session, mechanically  working  its  designs; 
but,  rather,  it  is  to  be  considered  as  an  ac- 
cepted energy,  conditioned  on  the  voluntary 
consent  and  cooperation  of  the  subject. 
Being  a  constitutional  endowment  of  the 
soul,  the  "Presence"  may  not  be  appre- 
hended as  a  personality  until  the  will  con- 
sents to  its  rule.  But  by  consent  and  co- 
operation the  apprehension  becomes  a  reality 
in  consciousness.  The  measure  of  growth, 
and  so  of  the  power  of  cooperation  with  the 
divine  presence,  is  gauged  by  the  character 
of  the  subject;  and  this  capacity,  like  all 
others,  may  relapse  by  neglect  and  revert 
to  the  original  type.  This  is  the  law  of  de- 
generation in  human  nature.  But  God  has 
not  abandoned  his  purpose,  defeated  in  his 
design.  Rather  he  will  patiently  wait  for 
the  fruitage  of  his  immanent  influence  on  the 
lives  of  men. 

If  we  are  able  to  see  that  this  divine  im- 
manence in  human  nature  is  the  immanence 

159 


HUMAN  NATURE 

of  life-energy — working  in  all  departments 
in  conjunction  with  consenting  culture,  and 
waiting  on  this  culture  for  the  finish  of  its 
work — then  we  will  see  that  nothing  can  stop 
the  completion  of  God's  plan.  Human 
nature  is  on  the  upgrade.  Because  it  has 
within  it  the  dynamic  of  the  divine  imma- 
nence it  will  go  on  increasing  in  its  capacity 
of  apprehending  God  until  it  shall  reach  the 
full  stature  of  perfect  humanity  after  the 
model  of  the  "Son  of  Man,"  its  spiritual 
representative. 


160 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
THE  PROBLEM  OF  HUMAN  LIFE 

This  is  only  solved  by  the  facts  of  experi- 
ence. History  records  merely  the  exploits 
of  a  few  prominent  men  of  a  tribe  or  nation, 
but  the  great  mass  of  humanity  are  not  taken 
into  the  account.  What  the  common  people 
are  thinking  about — the  psychological  proc- 
esses which  make  up  their  character — history 
does  not  think  worth  recording.  But  these 
experiences  are  the  material  out  of  which 
the  character  of  a  people  is  formed,  and  so 
must  solve  the  problem  of  human  life. 

"Experience"  is  a  comprehensive  word. 
It  puts  on  no  "theological  blinkers,"  hiding 
from  view  the  common  facts  of  life  with 
the  exception  of  such  as  fit  in  with  the  creed. 
It  is  open-eyed  to  all  that  influences  life. 
So  to  experience  we  must  go  to  find  an  ade- 
quate answer  to  our  question.  It  is  true  that 
the  high  ideals  taught  in  the  creeds  do  and 
must  affect  men's  manner  of  living  and  their 

161 


HUMAN  NATURE 

habitual  character.  But,  after  all,  it  is  the 
matters  of  conduct  these  ideals  teach  which 
make  up  real  life. 

The  great  problem  of  life,  therefore,  is  to 
weave  the  facts  of  action  into  a  seamless  web 
of  character.  The  problem  grows  more  com- 
plex and  difficult  as  we  get  into  the  thick 
of  the  struggle  of  social  relations.  In  youth, 
or  when  one  has  retired  and  is  isolated  from 
the  bustle  and  perplexities  of  social  affairs, 
the  facts  of  life  run  smoothly,  and  it  is  com- 
paratively easy  to  answer  Browning's  ques- 
tion, "Has  it  your  vote  to  do  right?"  But 
the  problem  is  not  so  easy  when  one  is  in  the 
competition  and  worry  of  life.  The  stub- 
born facts  of  social  attrition  make  the  prob- 
lem very  difficult.  There  is  a  great  differ- 
ence between  the  ideals  of  youth  and  of 
seclusion  and  the  rough  realities  of  actual 
experience. 

One  may  desire  to  do  right  as  he  sees  the 
right,  but  his  viewpoint  may  deceive  him. 
The  path  may  seem  solid  ground  to  a  defec- 
tive vision,  which  is  only  a  concealed  pitfall. 
To  one  who  has  in  a  manner  solved  the  past 

162 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  HUMAN  LIFE 

by  living  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  life 
there  seems  no  difficulty  in  seeing  a  divine 
purpose  in  giving  him  life.  But  to  one  who 
sits  among  the  ashes  of  a  burned-out  life  it 
is  different.  Thus  we  arrive  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  a  life  rightly  lived  solves  its  prob- 
lem by  its  experience.  The  meaning  of  life 
is  to  be  learned  by  living  it. 

Another  fact  we  ought  to  consider:  that 
we  live  our  lives  in  an  unmoral  cosmos.  The 
physical  world  in  which  we  dwell  is  not  ar- 
ranged on  moral  lines.  It  is  indifferent  to 
our  moral  character.  It  pays  no  attention  to 
our  sensibilities.  It  sends  its  rain  alike  "on 
the  just  and  on  the  unjust."  It  does  not 
help  us  in  deciding  any  moral  issue,  but 
leaves  us  to  solve  the  problem  without  its 
aid.  But,  while  the  cosmic  world  seems  in- 
different to  us,  we  cannot  be  indifferent  to 
it.  We  are  obliged  to  defer  to  the  regimen 
of  nature. 

The  problem  of  sin  must  be  treated  as  a 
fact  of  experience,  because  on  the  theological 
side  there  is  such  a  diversity  of  scriptural 
interpretations  concerning  it  that  we  find 

163 


HUMAN  NATURE 

ourselves  at  once  in  the  midst  of  conflicting 
opinions.  It  is  the  conscious  transgression 
of  known  law.  However  it  may  become  in- 
grained in  human  nature  by  heredity,  it  never 
loses  its  element  of  voluntary  choice.  It  is 
not  a  debt  that  can  be  paid,  either  by  the 
sinner  or  any  substitute.  It  is  not  a  stain 
that  can  be  washed  out.  It  is  an  act  of  moral 
choice,  known  in  experience,  and  must  be 
treated  as  such  if  we  try  to  solve  its  problem. 
Jesus  begins  his  solution  of  sin  with  the 
postulate:  "God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  Now,  if  love  is  equity  in 
action,  it  follows  that  the  "righteousness  of 
God"  obliged  him  to  send  his  Son  on  a  mis- 
sion of  mediation,  to  reconcile  the  rebel  man 
to  the  same  rule  of  equity.  This  is  the  divine 
side  of  the  problem.  The  human  side  is  to 
secure  the  willingness  of  the  sinner  to  accept 
forgiveness  for  the  sake  of  restoring  the 
broken  harmony.  Here  is  seen  the  need  of 
mediation.  The  whole  mission  of  Jesus,  the 
Christ,  was  to  accomplish  this  harmony  be- 

164 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  HUMAN  LIFE 

tween  rebellious  man  and  God,  under  the 
law  of  equitable  and  reciprocal  obligation. 
Let  us  get  this  proposition  clearly  settled, 
for  it  is  the  norm  of  the  problem.  No 
harmony  can  arise  from  the  offer  of  forgive- 
ness until  the  willingness  to  receive  it  is 
secured  on  terms  of  reciprocal  equity.  Thus 
the  whole  life  and  death  of  Jesus  were  those 
of  a  mediating  ambassador  of  God,  recon- 
ciling men  to  him.  We  submit  the  question 
if  this  showing  does  not  solve  the  problem  of 
sin  as  fully  as  human  experience  is  able  to 
do  it. 

When  we  approach  the  problem  of  human 
suffering  we  are  confronted  with  greater 
difficulties.  We  must  approach  it  from  the 
psychological  side.  The  problem  may  be 
stated  in  formal  words,  as  follows:  "Given 
a  beneficent  Creator  who  made  and  conserves 
this  universe  of  men  and  things,  under  laws 
of  order  and  harmony,  to  find  a  place  and 
cause  for  human  suffering."  Let  us  get  the 
full  meaning  of  the  problem  by  realizing  the 
significance  of  the  term  suffering.  We  find 
a  universal  law  that  the  susceptibility  to  pain 

165 


HUMAN  NATURE 

increases  as  life  ascends  in  grade  and  that 
this  law  holds  good  in  the  psychic  realm  as 
well  as  in  the  cosmic.  The  most  highly  de- 
veloped man  of  history  was  the  "Man  of 
Sorrows";  and  we  have  the  right  to  infer 
that  God  is  infinitely  sensitive  to  human  suf- 
fering. Nothing  can  suffer  as  love  does. 
But  we  are  helped  in  this  emergency  by 
another  law  that  greatly  relieves  us  from 
the  strain — the  law  that  our  greatest  happi- 
ness is  often  realized  through  suffering. 
Literature  is  full  of  such  illustrations.  All 
the  great  saviors  of  humanity  have  found 
their  greatest  joy  in  suffering  for  others. 
Martyrs  and  saints  come  up  to  their  corona- 
tion through  "great  tribulation."  The 
"Man  of  Sorrows,"  for  "the  joy  that  was 
set  before  him,  endured  the  cross."  It  is  a 
hard  lesson  to  be  learned,  but  the  meaning 
is  that  the  joy  of  vicarious  suffering  compen- 
sates for  the  hardness  of  the  experience. 

But  we  do  not  get  into  the  heart  of  the 
problem  until  we  notice  that  the  largest  part 
of  suffering  comes  from  the  cruel  injustice 
of  others.     How  can  we  reconcile  this  fact 

166 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  HUMAN  LIFE 

with  the  justice  that  governs  the  affairs  of 
human  life?  Why  should  "the  children's 
teeth"  be  "set  on  edge"  because  "the  fathers 
have  eaten  sour  grapes"?  We  may  not 
know  the  reason  for  heredity,  but  infinite 
wisdom  has  put  men  into  society  under  this 
law  as  the  best  for  them.  This  involves  the 
possibility  of  injustice  in  the  conduct  of  free 
agents,  and  makes  the  innocent  a  partaker 
of  the  penalty.  But  society  is  the  law  of  the 
universe.  And,  since  "God  is  love,"  we  may 
rationally  conclude  that  he  will  give  all  a 
fair  deal  when  weakness  and  need  appeal  to 
equity. 

If  we  inquire  for  the  first  cause  of  suffer- 
ing, theology  and  psychology  unite  in  giving 
lawlessness  as  that  cause.  Nothing  can  be 
lawless  except  man,  with  his  power  of  choice ; 
cosmic  nature  can  never  be  lawless.  The 
solution  of  the  problem  of  suffering,  then,  is 
found  in  the  restoration  of  law  in  all  its 
applications  to  human  life. 

The  problem  of  character  is  principally 
individual.  There  is  what  may  be  called  a 
common  character  in  the  case  of  a  family, 

167 


HUMAN  NATURE 

community,  or  nation,  but  such  is  only  a 
composite  of  all  the  individual  characters  in 
that  class.  What  we  mean  by  character  is 
the  make-up  of  an  individual,  achieved  in  his 
personal  experience  by  his  personal  volitions 
and  habits  of  conduct. 

In  the  formation  of  character  a  worthy 
model  should  be  followed.  All  persons  have 
some  kind  of  an  ideal  that  they  imitate.  But 
great  care  should  be  taken  in  selecting  that 
ideal.  There  is  but  one  model  character 
whose  presence  in  history  inspires  us  to  our 
best  endeavor.  Jesus  is  that  model,  whose 
personal  experience  in  achieving  his  own 
character  appeals  so  strongly  for  imitation 
and  is  the  only  ideal  that  can  be  followed 
with  full  confidence.  Our  effort  should  be 
not  so  much  to  do  what  he  did  as  to  catch  his 
spirit  and  to  possess  the  same  dynamic  that 
wrought  so  mightily  in  him. 

But  having  a  perfect  model  is  not  enough. 
A  persistent  and  faithful  following  thereof 
is  the  only  surety  of  success.  One  must 
have  not  only  the  fullest  determination  to 
exercise  his  utmost  power,  but  also  a  fixed 

168 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  HUMAN  LIFE 

purpose  to  succeed.  He  must  lay  hold  of 
divine  as  well  as  human  help.  The  face  of 
Jesus  represents  the  face  of  God.  Looking 
steadfastly  on  that,  as  in  a  mirror,  we  "are 
changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory  to 
glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord." 
And  this  solves  the  whole  problem  of  human 
life. 

Never,  in  all  the  ages  of  existence  has 
human  life  taken  on  so  high  a  grade  of  char- 
acter as  in  this  twentieth  century.  It  is 
evidently  an  age  of  development,  not  only 
of  the  religious  capacity  but  also  of  a  clearer 
apprehension  of  human  nature  in  its  progress 
toward  its  climax  in  evolution. 


169 


VII 
EUGENICS  OF  HUMAN  NATURE 


The  heredity  of  genius  has  been  fully 
proved  by  that  very  interesting  writer  and 
accurate  observer,  Francis  Galton;  and  he 
has  put  forth  in  a  masterly  manner  the 
claims  of  eugenics,  or  race  culture. — Popular 
Science  Monthly. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
SOCIAL  SERVICE  REFORM 

To  understand  social  service,  as  it  is  now 
considered,  one  needs  to  study  the  science  of 
sociology.  This  word  was  first  used  by 
Comte  in  1838  to  designate  a  science  of 
social  physics.  In  1876  Herbert  Spencer 
published  his  Principles  of  Sociology. 
American  sociology  commenced  with  the 
issue  of  The  Principles  of  State  Science,  by 
Henry  C.  Cary,  in  1858,  in  which  he  cen- 
tered all  phenomena  around  the  principle  of 
association.  This  science  .primarily  had  its 
inception  in  the  intuition  of  human  inter- 
action and  sympathy.  Like  natures  become 
aware  of  similarities ;  a  consciousness  of  kind 
creates  an  assimilation. 

Sociology  as  a  science  declares  that  the 
individual  is  to  a  large  extent  a  product  of 
environment.  Society  is  psychological 
rather  than  physical.  Hence  there  is  in 
society  what  may  be  called  a  social  mind. 

173 


HUMAN  NATURE 

It  is  concrete  in  the  individual,  but  in  the 
interaction  of  individuals  it  becomes  a  uni- 
versal unit.  While  in  the  lowest  class  of 
men  it  is  instinctive  and  emotional,  yet  the 
highest  and  purest  form  of  the  social  mind 
is  an  evolution  of  a  reasoning  public  opinion. 
It  takes  on  many  forms  in  its  concrete  work, 
such  as: 

1.  Social  Purity  Organizations.  The 
purpose  of  these  is  to  promote  purity  of  life 
in  the  individual.  This  it  seeks  through 
preventive,  educational,  reformatory  work, 
as  well  as  through  law  enforcement,  legis- 
lative, and  sanitary  lines  of  effort.  As  a 
result  state  regulation  of  social  vice  has  been 
abolished,  the  white-slave  trade  has  been  in- 
vestigated and  vigorously  prosecuted,  the 
single  standard  of  morals  is  being  upheld, 
and  a  higher  public  sentiment  is  being  fos- 
tered which  makes  reform  possible. 

2.  Social  Service  Movements  in  Churches. 
The  Christian  churches  are  organized  for 
this  work.  The  Founder  of  Christianity 
was  a  social  service  worker.  "I  am  among 
you  as  he  that  serveth,"  was  his  statement; 

174 


SOCIAL  SERVICE  REFORM 

and  his  gospel  is  a  proclamation  of  social 
reform.  However  lax  some  churches  may 
be  in  practical  work,  the  Christian  Church  as 
a  whole  is  emphatically  a  social  reform 
movement.  Among  its  organizations  for 
special  work  are  the  church  brotherhoods, 
the  young  peoples'  societies,  the  church 
temperance  societies,  and  numerous  other 
leagues  for  helping  humanity  to  better 
conditions. 

3.  Socialism.  The  largest  and  most 
effective  organization  for  social  service  and 
reform  may  be  classed  under  this  head.  The 
term  does  not  indicate  a  single,  united  or- 
ganization, but  embraces  many  subordinate 
classes  working  for  the  same  end.  The  name 
is  derived  from  the  Latin  word  socius,  mean- 
ing a  comrade,  an  associate.  It  is  a  term 
definitely  opposed  to  paternalism.  In  its 
essence  it  means  economic  comradeship.  Its 
clear  definition  is  given  in  the  Encyclopaedia 
of  Social  Reform,  as  follows:  "Socialism 
may  be  said  to  be  the  collective  ownership 
of  the  means  of  production  by  the  com- 
munity, democratically  organized,  and  their 

175 


HUMAN  NATURE 

operation  cooperatively  for  the  equitable 
good  of  all." 

The  most  significant  of  all  the  forms  that 
the  movement  has  taken  on  is  that  of  Chris- 
tian socialism.  This  is  simply  a  reversion 
to  the  original  teachings  of  the  Founder  of 
Christianity.  Every  man  who  understands 
and  earnestly  accepts  the  teachings  of  the 
Master  is  a  socialist;  and  every  socialist, 
whatever  his  hatred  of  the  church,  bears 
within  himself  an  unconscious  mark  of 
Christianity.  Socialism,  thus  understood,  is 
freedom  in  the  American  sense.  It  is  an 
equitable  production  and  distribution  of  the 
necessities  of  life.  It  is  progressive  in  all 
that  leads  human  nature  up  to  higher  grades, 
and  so  it  educates  to  nobler  character  and 
purer  morals.  The  forward  movements  of 
the  age  are  inspired  by  its  principles.  Social 
service  is  its  legitimate  work;  with  its  polit- 
ical movements  we  are  not  at  present  inter- 
ested. 

4.  Temperance  Reform.  The  largest 
eugenic  movement  in  reform  is  that  of  tem- 
perance.   At  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth 

176 


SOCIAL  SERVICE  REFORM 

century  the  United  States  was  a  nation  of 
drunkards — if  we  are  permitted  to  accept 
the  modern  definition  that  a  man  is  drunk 
in  a  degree  when  he  takes  his  first  glass  of 
alcoholic  liquor — for  men  universally  drank 
New  England  rum,  imported  brandy,  fer- 
mented beer,  and  cider.  It  was  not  thought 
disgraceful  to  stagger  in  gait  or  to  be  thick 
in  speech.  Men  were  so  constantly  excited 
by  drink  that  it  passed  unnoticed.  Women 
and  children  drank  moderately.  All  public 
occasions — weddings,  funerals,  militia  mus- 
ters— were  occasions  of  unlimited  indul- 
gence. The  liquor  decanter  was  on  the  side- 
board of  every  well-to-do  family  in  hospi- 
tality. Thinking  men  looked  around  for 
some  means  of  checking  the  evil  and  saving 
the  nation  from  the  desolation  of  universal 
drunkenness.  The  movement  for  reform 
naturally  divided  itself  into  two  forms — the 
persuasion  of  drinkers  to  total  abstinence, 
or  at  least  to  moderation,  and  legal  enact- 
ments for  the  regulation  of  the  traffic  in 
spirits.  In  modem  terms  the  division  is 
"total  abstinence"  and  "prohibition."     The 

177 


HUMAN  NATURE 

first  has  relation  to  social  service;  the  latter 
to  civil  service. 

The  regulations  which  John  Wesley  had 
written  for  his  United  Societies  in  England 
were  adopted  in  1784  by  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  at  its  formation,  as  a  part  of 
its  "General  Rules."  This  was  followed  by 
the  circulation  of  a  pledge  promising  to  ab- 
stain from  the  use  of  distilled  spirits,  its 
mover  being  Micaiah  Pendleton,  of  Virginia. 
The  same  year  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  of 
Philadelphia,  published  a  medical  work  ex- 
posing the  deleterious  effects  of  alcohol  on 
the  nervous  system.  In  1808  Dr.  J.  B.  Clark 
formed  a  temperance  society  at  Saratoga, 
New  York.  In  1813  the  Massachusetts  So- 
ciety for  the  Suppression  of  Intemperance 
was  formed.  In  1826  the  American  Society 
for  the  Suppression  of  Intemperance  was 
organized.  In  1829  there  were  eleven  State 
societies  and  one  thousand  local  societies.  In 
this  year  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  published  six 
sermons  on  the  subject  of  intemperance. 
By  1833  there  were  reported  6,000  local 
societies,  with  100,000  members  enrolled  and 

178 


SOCIAL  SERVICE  REFORM 

a  record  of  2,000  liquor  groceries  closed.  All 
these  movements  urged  abstinence  from 
distilled  spirits  only.  But  in  1836  a  teetotal 
pledge  was  adopted  by  a  convention  at 
Saratoga,  which  defined  temperance  as 
"consisting  in  moderation  in  use  of  all  things 
useful  and  total  abstinence  from  all  things 
harmful";  and,  as  it  was  found  that  beer, 
wine,  and  cider  were  large  promoters  of 
drunkenness,  these  were  included  in  the 
liquors  prohibited.  In  1840  six  drunkards 
met  at  Baltimore,  signed  a  pledge  of  total 
abstinence,  and  named  themselves  the 
Washingtonians.  This  society  multiplied 
rapidly,  and  in  five  years  it  was  estimated 
that  650,000  drunkards  had  signed  its 
pledge;  but  it  did  not  continue,  for  it  soon 
became  confessed  that  the  habit  was  too 
strong  to  be  overcome  by  merely  signing  a 
pledge.  In  1842  the  Order  of  Sons  of 
Temperance  was  organized;  in  1851  the 
Order  of  Good  Templars  was  instituted; 
and  in  1874  the  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union  was  formed.  Of  these  so- 
cieties only  the   Good  Templars  and  the 

179 


HUMAN  NATURE 

Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  con- 
tinue their  active  and  efficient  work.  But 
the  churches  of  all  denominations  make 
total  abstinence  a  test  of  membership,  thus 
giving  to  the  cause  a  religious  sanction. 

The  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union  is  the  descendant  of  the  famous 
"Woman's  Temperance  Crusade,"  which  in 
fifty  days  put  two  hundred  and  fifty  saloons 
out  of  existence.  In  1883  it  became  a  world 
organization,  under  the  leadership  of 
Frances  E.  Willard,  and  is  established  in 
fifty  nations  with  a  membership  of  half  a 
million.  It  has  expanded  its  work  to  include 
all  forms  of  social  service,  and  seeks  to 
create  "a  strong  public  sentiment  in  favor 
of  purity  of  life,  including  abstinence  from 
all  intoxicants  and  narcotic  poisons,  the  pro- 
tection of  home,  the  suppression  of  gam- 
bling, franchising  of  all  women,  and  estab- 
lishment of  courts  of  arbitration." 


180 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM 

This  branch  of  the  United  States  service 
includes  all  governmental  employments  not 
military  or  naval.  It  has  two  divisions — ■ 
the  political,  which  embraces  all  positions 
filled  by  the  vote  of  the  people,  and  the  non- 
political,  which  comprises  all  ministerial 
offices  filled  by  appointment. 

Until  recent  years  the  corruption  attend- 
ing the  filling  of  the  latter  class  of  positions 
had  grown  to  such  enormous  proportions  as 
to  menace  our  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment. The  making  of  these  appointments 
had  gradually  become  a  means  of  increasing 
the  political  power  of  the  officials  concerned. 
The  doctrine  was  held  that  "to  the  victors 
belong  the  spoils";  the  positions  were  dis- 
tributed to  the  servitors  and  loyal  supporters 
of  the  appointing  officer;  and  both  parties 
were  corrupted  thereby.  Civil  service  re- 
formers urged  the  necessity  of  making  the 

181 


HUMAN  NATURE 

tenure  of  all  ministerial  appointments  inde- 
pendent of  party  changes  and  of  establish- 
ing a  system  of  competitive  examinations  for 
the  offices  to  be  filled. 

For  the  purpose  of  such  examinations  a 
Commission  was  appointed  by  Congress  in 
1870,  but  fell  into  inactivity  on  account  of 
political  opposition.  In  1884,  however,  a 
system  of  competitive  examinations  became 
the  established  order  for  political  appoint- 
ments; and,  while  the  political  side  of 
national  civic  service  still  needs  improve- 
ment, the  reform  is  advancing.  Of  the 
325,000  positions  in  the  federal  service, 
184,000  are  now  under  the  system  of  com- 
petitive examination,  and  the  opportunities 
for  corruption  are  thus  greatly  reduced. 
The  fact  that  the  whole  expense  of  the 
ministerial  service  in  the  United  States  for 
the  past  year  was  $200,000,000  shows  the 
great  opportunity  formerly  afforded  for  the 
working  of  the  "spoils  system."  While  in 
many  States  there  still  remain  corrupt  prac- 
tices in  the  operation  of  the  civil  service, 
these  States  are  gradually  falling  into  line 

182 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM 

with  the  methods  of  general  government. 
Many  municipalities  are  also  adopting  the 
system  of  competitive  examinations  for  ap- 
pointive positions,  and  are  realizing  the 
benefit  of  better  service.  The  elimination 
of  party  politics  from  the  conduct  of  city 
governments  is  the  result  of  the  reform. 

The  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic  is  part 
of  the  civil  service  reform.  The  work  of 
persuading  men  to  become  sober  citizens  is 
frustrated  by  a  licensed  traffic  that  has  be- 
come entrenched  in  the  protection  of  the 
general  government.  If  the  legal  guardian- 
ship of  the  government  over  the  traffic  could 
be  removed  and  the  traffic  be  left  to  defend 
itself  against  public  sentiment,  it  would  soon 
retreat  from  its  present  attitude  of  defiance 
and  would  hide  itself  away.  The  national 
government  itself  initiated  the  doctrine  of 
prohibition  against  the  traffic,  even  while 
protecting  it.  As  early  as  1835  the  secre- 
tary of  war  prohibited  the  introduction  of 
alcoholic  spirits  into  any  camp,  fort,  or  gar- 
rison of  the  United  States  army;  and  in 
1834  the  general  government  forbade  the 

183 


HUMAN  NATURE 

sale  of  ardent  spirits  to  any  Indian  living 
within  the  national  bounds.  In  1851  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  distilled  spirits  was 
prohibited  by  the  legislature  of  Maine,  and 
the  act  was  confirmed  by  the  almost  unani- 
mous vote  of  the  people  and  has  remained 
in  force  sixty-five  years.  A  setback  for  the 
reform  movement  occurred  in  the  Civil  War. 
In  the  struggle  for  national  life  the  govern- 
ment found  itself  exhausted  in  revenue,  and 
in  its  desperation  to  meet  the  demands  of 
the  war  it  laid  a  tax  on  the  manufacture  of 
whisky  and  beer.  To  this  tax  the  manufac- 
turers readily  consented,  provided  the  gov- 
ernment would  give  them  legal  protection 
against  all  attempts  to  curtail  their  busi- 
ness. President  Lincoln  reluctantly  con- 
sented, hoping  that  at  the  close  of  the  war 
the  unholy  alliance  would  be  abolished.  But 
the  manufacturers  had  the  nation  by  the 
throat,  and  would  not  loosen  their  grip. 
Having  capitalized  and  formed  a  trust,  they 
gained  control  of  the  political  machine.  At 
the  death  of  President  Lincoln  they  were 
able  to  dictate  all  legislation  concerning  the 

184 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM 

liquor  traffic.  Not  only  did  they  cement  the 
alliance,  but  they  gained  the  further  advan- 
tage of  a  governmental  license  to  sell  liquors 
in  States  that  prohibited  it.  In  getting  rid 
of  slavery  by  war  the  nation  thus  became 
a  party  to  a  greater  and  more  menacing  evil, 
and  for  fifty  years  has  suffered  untold 
misery  because  of  the  great  mistake. 

Another  foe  to  prohibition  has  been  the 
heavy  immigration  of  beer-drinking  foreign- 
ers. Within  twenty  years  after  the  Civil 
War  1,330,000  Germans  settled  in  this 
country,  and  under  their  influence  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  beer  has  become  a  com- 
manding power.  Prohibition  seemed  an 
utter  failure  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War, 
for  of  thirteen  States  that  had  taken  action 
against  the  traffic  only  Maine  was  left  to 
uphold  the  system  of  prohibition.  The  allied 
forces  of  temperance  then  aligned,  under 
the  call  for  local  option,  to  give  counties  and 
municipalities  the  right  to  defend  themselves 
against  the  foe  of  humanity.  The  plan  was 
at  first  a  great  success.  Numerous  counties 
and  municipalities  voted  themselves  "dry." 

185 


HUMAN  NATURE 

But,  because  the  environing  towns  continued 
to  sell,  drunkenness  persisted.  Then  the 
spirit  of  prohibition  inherent  in  the  local 
option  movement  rallied  again,  and  under 
the  call  for  State  prohibition  has  forced  the 
enemy  to  retreat  from  fourteen  States,  thus 
recovering  the  ground  lost  by  the  Civil  War. 
The  unanimous  call  is  now  for  national 
prohibition.  Congressmen  and  senators 
must  now  adjust  themselves  to  a  new  code 
of  political  morals.  The  people  of  the 
American  republic  are  aroused  to  a  convic- 
tion that  the  unholy  alliance  of  the  govern- 
ment with  the  nefarious  liquor  interests  must 
be  broken.  Our  thinkers  are  awakening  to 
the  eternal  fact  that  law  is  a  moral  agent 
and  that  this  conviction  is  implanted  in 
human  nature.  All  legal  enactments  are  but 
the  transcript  of  that  intuitive  sense  of  right 
which  manifests  itself  in  legal  statutes.  The 
claim  of  the  liquor  interests  that  men  cannot 
be  made  moral  by  law  is,  like  most  of  their 
sayings,  fallacious  and  contrary  to  common 
experience.  Millions  of  men  gauge  their 
conceptions  of  moralitv  by  the  statute  law, 

186 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

INDUSTRIAL  REFORM 

In  primitive  life  commerce  began  with 
the  exchange  of  commodities.  The  producer 
of  one  kind  bartered  his  surplus  with  his 
neighbor  for  something  he  had  not  produced 
himself.  But  in  process  of  time,  when  the 
wants  of  men  became  more  complex,  this 
simple  exchange  between  producers  became 
inconvenient  and  finally  impossible.  The 
middle  man  appeared  to  perfect  the  ex- 
change; and  of  necessity  he  must  have  his 
wage  for  the  service.  This  became  the 
method  for  the  distribution  of  productions; 
the  wage  paid  was  called  the  profit  of  the 
middleman.  But  soon  the  producer  was 
seized  with  a  desire  to  reap  a  profit  on  his 
productions.  Money  became  a  necessity  for 
the  exchange.  While  at  first  it  was  simply 
an  equivalent  of  production  for  convenience 
in  exchange,  it  became  invested  with  a  value 
and  was  itself  esteemed  as  wealth.     Profit 

187 


HUMAN  NATURE 

was  considered  legitimate,  and  the  middle- 
man became  a  necessity. 

But  the  lust  for  wealth  came  into  control 
both  of  production  and  distribution  and 
made  labor  its  servant,  because  labor  was 
not  yet  trained  to  assert  its  freedom.  Then 
labor,  feeling  the  hardship  of  being  a  vassal 
to  wealth,  after  many  years  of  servile  toil 
organized  itself  into  a  confederacy  for  pro- 
tection against  the  oppression  of  wealth. 
But  these  belligerent  forces  which  manifest 
themselves  in  the  economic  world  are  not 
dual  forces;  they,  rather,  originate  in  the 
same  organic  principle  of  self-love,  which 
is  an  essential  principle  in  human  life.  They 
have  been  rightly  named  "plutocratic  selfish- 
ness"  and  "democratic  opportunity."  The 
former  demands  the  privilege  of  profit- 
making  at  the  expense  of  labor;  the  latter 
demands  the  right  to  "life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness."  The  claim  of  the 
former  is  to  all  the  profits  of  industry,  by 
reason  of  the  money  invested  in  that  indus- 
try; the  latter  claims  that  the  distribution 
of  all  profits  shall  be  equitable.    The  former 

188 


INDUSTRIAL  REFORM 

asserts  that  capital  is  the  only  basis  of  all 
production,  and  for  that  reason  has  the  right 
to  fix  the  price  of  labor  and  the  price  of 
productions  in  the  market;  the  latter  as- 
sumes that  trained  ability  to  use  machinery 
and  the  skill  to  manufacture  productions  are 
as  essential  as  capital,  and  have  the  right 
to  fix  the  price  of  labor.  The  motto  of  the 
former  is  "Profit-making  for  personal 
wealth";  the  motto  of  the  latter  is  "Equity 
in  both  production  and  distribution." 

Now,  let  us  examine  the  grounds  of  this 
contention.  The  "bill  of  rights"  inhering  in 
human  nature  declares  that  any  system  of 
economics  which  asserts  that  the  necessities 
of  life  can  become  private  property  is  false 
and  inequitable.  The  assumption  contra- 
dicts the  accepted  definition  of  private 
property.  Moreover,  the  necessities  of 
living  must  be  classed  with  the  natural  pro- 
visions of  earth,  air,  water,  and  sunshine. 
If  all  have  an  equal  right  to  live,  they  must 
have  an  equal  right  to  the  necessities  of 
living.  So  it  follows  that  all  which  is  neces- 
sary to  living  should  go  into  the  free  list  of 

189 


HUMAN  NATURE 

provisions  for  living.  For  another  reason 
this  contention  is  true;  each  one  of  the 
human  family  is  a  component  part  of  the 
great  unit  of  humanity,  and  for  that  reason 
is  entitled  to  an  equitable  share  in  the  means 
ol  living.  Why  should  he  as  a  pauper  ask 
in  charity  for  that  which  he  has  a  right  to 
claim  as  his?  It  is  clear  that  all  an  indi- 
vidual can  claim  as  his  private  property  is 
his  ability  to  produce,  and  that  what  he 
produces  belongs  to  the  commonwealth  in 
the  same  way  he  belongs  to  the  common- 
wealth as  a  component  part  of  the  unit  of 
humanity. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  rupture  in  economics 
is  the  giving  of  speculative  values  to  the 
necessities  of  life.  In  the  present  system  of 
business  all  commercial  exchange  is  carried 
on  under  the  inspiration  of  these  values 
given  to  commodities  necessary  to  life  and 
happiness.  The  bulls  and  bears  of  trade 
are  in  constant  conflict  to  raise  or  depress 
prices,  that  they  may  make  a  profit.  Land, 
which  God  made  for  man  to  live  upon,  is 
seized  and  made  private  property  for  mar- 

190 


INDUSTRIAL  REFORM 

ginal  profit.  Good  men  engage  in  promoting 
these  fictitious  values  with  no  thought  of 
how  many  are  made  to  herd  in  tenements. 
Who  can  fail  to  see  the  cause  of  the  serious 
unrest  and  conflict  in  such  economic  rela- 
tions? Some  plants,  indeed,  declare  for  the 
"open  shop"  and  defy  organized  labor,  but 
they  are  careful  to  pay  the  wage  that  organ- 
ized labor  demands.  From  an  ethical  stand- 
point we  must  apprehend  the  coming  of  a 
crisis  that  is  full  of  danger.  Some  hope,  it 
is  true,  to  heal  the  breach  by  arbitration; 
but  it  is  easily  seen  that  this  leaves  the  way 
open  for  future  outbreaks.  The  conflicting 
principles  inhere  in  the  differing  systems  of 
economics. 

But  let  us  not  despair.  Human  nature, 
underneath  the  lust  for  money-making,  has 
an  instinct  for  fair  dealing.  Its  sense  of 
equity  is  not  lost.  It  cries  out  against  op- 
pression, and  is  seeking  better  business 
methods.  It  aims  to  establish  a  system  of 
industry  based  upon  two  principles:  first, 
the  recognition  that  trained  ability  is  capital 
invested  in  cooperation  with  money;  and, 

191 


HUMAN  NATURE 

secondly,  that  the  net  profits  of  production 
belong  to  all  invested  capital  alike,  both 
money  and  labor,  and  should  be  so  distrib- 
uted. This  is  a  system  of  industry  that  is 
feeling  its  way  tentatively  in  the  economic 
world  and,  it  is  hoped,  may  solve  the  open 
questions  of  industrial  activity. 

A  notable  illustration  of  this  new  system 
is  found  in  the  Washington-Crosby  Flour- 
ing Corporation,  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 
Each  man  employed  is  a  component  part 
of  the  concern,  in  the  sense  of  being  an 
integral  unit  thereof.  Invested  capital  con- 
sisting of  money  and  labor  is  graded  accord- 
ing to  its  worth  in  production.  The  distri- 
bution of  profits,  above  the  wage  or  salary, 
is  according  to  the  value  of  each  in  the 
process  of  production.  Money  for  the  plant 
and  material  goes  in  as  invested  capital  with 
labor,  each  drawing  from  the  general  funds. 
Many  other  plants  are  imitating  this,  and 
the  prospect  is  that  this  will  become  the  pre- 
vailing system  of  production.  Its  beauty 
and  morality  are  shown  in  the  long  experi- 
ence  of   the   corporation   noted.      Though 

192 


INDUSTRIAL  REFORM 

existing  and  operating  for  many  years,  it 
has  never  had  a  strike  or  a  lockout.  A  place 
in  it  has  always  been  at  a  premium,  and  the 
old  workmen  on  retiring  are  allotted  a  pen- 
sion for  life.  So,  it  has  proved  itself  the 
most  successful  and  satisfactory  corporation 
in  the  world. 


193 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

DEMOCRACY  OF  HUMAN* 
NATURE 

The  term  "democracy"  is  derived  from 
two  Greek  words  signifying  "the  rule  of 
the  people."  The  word  is  socialistic  rather 
than  individualistic.  No  one  can  be  a  demo- 
crat alone,  but  must  be  associated  with 
others,  however  small  the  number.  The 
earliest  democracy  is  described  in  Hebrew 
literature,  where  by  hereditary  custom  or 
by  election  the  rule  centered  in  a  father  or 
chief  as  the  representative  of  the  people. 
The  democracy  of  Greece  and  Rome  was 
that  of  a  select  class  and  should  be  styled 
an  aristocracy.  Even  the  republic  of  Plato 
was  never  realized.  A  pure  democracy  in 
which  all  the  people  have  an  equal  voice  in 
the  government  has  never  had  realization. 
The  only  practical  democracy  as  yet  achieved 
is  that  in  which  every  enfranchised  person 

194 


DEMOCRACY 

has  a  vote  or  voice  in  determining  who  shall 
represent  their  right  to  rule. 

The  greatest  obstacle  to  the  establishment 
of  democratic  equality  has  been  "the  law  of 
hereditary  descent."  We  find  it  a  universal 
custom  that  the  first-born  of  a  family  shall 
inherit  both  the  property  and  the  official 
title  of  the  father.  By  this  law  or  custom 
a  man  acquires  a  class  distinction.  This  dis- 
tinction unites  all  who  are  in  that  class  into 
a  separate  and  dominant  rulership  to  which 
even  the  majority  must  submit.  Here  is 
the  basis  for  the  claim  of  "the  divine  right 
of  kings"  to  rule  and  also  for  "the  pride  of 
family  name."  This  law  of  descent  divides 
the  whole  human  family  into  two  classes — 
the  rich  and  the  poor,  or  the  privileged  and 
the  servile.  True,  by  revolution  and  other 
causes  the  parties  may  change  places,  but  the 
law  remains. 

Whenever  men  for  any  cause  abolish  this 
law  of  descent,  then  equal  rights  prevail. 
Here  is  the  birth  of  democracy.  Many  re- 
markable changes  then  occur  in  the  natural 
order   of   sequence.      Property   no   longer 

195 


HUMAN  NATURE 

represents  the  family ;  the  greatness  of  name 
that  is  based  on  landed  estates  sinks  into 
oblivion.  Aristocracy  of  blood  dies  out  for 
want  of  servile  dependencies ;  where  all  men 
are  socially  and  politically  equal  there  can 
be  no  lordly  class  claiming  peculiar  privi- 
leges by  divine  right.  Democracy  is  social- 
istic. One  remarkable  result  of  this  equality, 
also,  is  seen  in  the  medium  standard  of  in- 
telligence it  promotes ;  it  fosters  no  ignorant 
class,  nor  elevates  any  to  a  pedestal  of  envi- 
able notoriety. 

It  is  impossible  that  such  social  equality 
should  become  the  fixed  habit  of  a  people 
without  affecting  their  political  condition. 
They  must  eventually  become  politically 
equal  or  lose  their  freedom.  This  equality 
can  only  be  enjoyed  by  each  person  being 
in  possession  of  all  his  rights,  involving  an 
equal  standing  before  the  law  and  an  equal 
opportunity  to  enjoy  such  rights.  Yet  the 
people  as  a  whole  must  be  the  sovereign 
power.  Their  will  may  be  expressed  by  a 
personal  voice  in  a  general  assembly  or  by 
elected  representatives.     The  former  is  a 

.    196 


DEMOCRACY 

pure  democracy;  the  latter  may  be  termed 
a  representative  democracy  where  the 
sovereignty  of  all  the  people  is  represented 
by  a  few  selected  to  voice  their  will.  The 
main  difference,  then,  between  a  monarchy 
and  a  republic  is  that  in  the  former  the  will 
of  the  people  is  vested  in  one  man  who  rules 
by  "divine  right,"  while  in  the  other  case 
the  will  of  the  people  is  vested  in  a  majority 
who  elect  the  ruler. 

But  the  tyranny  of  the  majority  may  be 
as  oppressive  as  the  tyranny  of  the  monarch. 
Against  the  latter  the*  people  have  the  right 
of  revolution.  But  what  is  the  remedy 
against  the  tyranny  of  the  majority?  The 
only  possible  relief  is  in  changing  the  will 
of  the  majority  by  education.  Against  the 
oppression  or  infidelity  of  a  representative 
the  people  have  the  right  of  appeal,  either 
by  impeachment  or  by  direct  vote.  They 
have  likewise  the  right  to  initiate  laws  and 
the  right  to  accept  or  reject  laws  passed  by 
their  representatives.  That  is  to  say,  the 
rights  of  recall,  initiative,  and  referendum 
are  reserved  rights  of  a  democracy. 

197 


HUMAN  NATURE 

The  history  of  democracy  traces  the 
psychological  development  of  human  nature 
in  comprehending  and  asserting  its  original 
capacities  for  self-government.  In  the 
primitive  times  the  government  took  on  the 
patriarchal  form  as  the  closest  and  most 
natural  representation  of  the  rights  of  the 
individuals  of  the  family.  Out  of  the  family 
grew  the  tribe,  and  out  of  the  tribe  grew  the 
nation.  The  divinely  given  right  of  the 
father  to  rule  his  family  was  claimed  by 
each  ruler  in  the  succession  as  father  of  the 
tribe  or  nation.  As  before  said,  the  law  of 
heredity,  however  originated,  submerged  all 
claims  to  individual  autonomy  in  govern- 
ment into  the  larger  idea  of  the  fatherhood 
of  the  ruler.  The  attempt  of  Greece  and 
Rome  to  set  up  a  democratic  form  of  gov- 
ernment, after  the  model  of  Plato's  ideal 
republic,  failed  because  their  demos  was  a 
select  class  of  scholars  and  wealthy  politi- 
cians, while  all  the  laboring  class  was  left 
out  in  the  consideration.  Their  governments 
were  really  aristocracies  of  scholars  and 
politicians,   and  were   closely   akin   to  the 

198 


DEMOCRACY 

monarchy.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
republics  of  Switzerland  and  Holland. 

It  remained  for  the  American  colonists  to 
establish  a  consistent  and  permanent  re- 
public. It  was  born  in  the  Mayflower,  when 
the  Compact,  drawn  up  by  Elder  Brewster, 
was  signed  by  the  Pilgrims.  It  found  its 
first  political  expression  in  the  "town  meet- 
ing" established  in  every  settlement  after  the 
landing  at  Plymouth.  The  assembly  of  all 
the  electors  set  apart  three  of  their  number 
as  "selectmen"  to  execute  their  regulations. 
This  township  assembly  was  the  first  recog- 
nition of  the  equal  right  of  all  men  to  life, 
liberty,  and  happiness.  But  it  was  not  a 
pure  democracy,  for  it  excluded  minors, 
women,  Indians,  and  Negroes.  Only  per- 
sons of  certain  possessions  and  qualities  of 
character  were  entitled  to  vote,  and  these 
constituted  the  "people"  from  whom  all 
officials  were  to  be  chosen.  Yet  this  equal- 
ity, as  far  as  it  went,  held  the  spirit  of  the 
republic. 

The  union  of  several  townships  made  the 
county,  and  the  county  was  the  confederacy 

199 


HUMAN  NATURE 

of  the  several  towns  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing a  primary  judiciary  and  a  central 
registry  of  titles  to  real  estate.  The  justices 
of  the  peace  were  the  primary  judiciary;  and 
several  counties  formed  a  State,  where  was 
centered  all  legislation.  Here  was  the  first 
form  of  the  republic.  Each  township  was 
an  integral  part  of  the  State,  and  yielded 
up  some  of  its  sovereign  rights  to  constitute 
a  larger  unit.  The  State  as  constituted  had 
no  intrinsic  rights  except  as  they  were  vested 
in  it  by  representatives  of  the  several  towns ; 
it  was  only  and  always  a  representative 
sovereignty.  The  constitution  of  a  State 
recognizes  the  right  of  the  people  to  make 
it  what  they  will.  The  right  of  initiation  is 
the  reserved  right  to  initiate  all  laws  for 
their  own  government.  The  right  of  recall 
is  the  right  to  relegate  an  undesirable  repre- 
sentative to  private  life.  The  right  of  refer- 
endum is  the  right  to  accept  or  reject  any 
law  passed  by  their  representatives. 

So  the  constitution  of  the  republic  was 
made  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  several 
townships.    "We,  the  people,  do  ordain,"  is 

200 


DEMOCRACY 

the  language  of  the  document.  And  so 
every  franchised  person  living  anywhere 
within  the  limits  of  the  republic  is  a  citizen 
of  the  republic,  as  he  is  of  a  State  or  a  munic- 
ipality. Hence,  in  the  evolution  of  human 
nature,  one  may  become  a  citizen  of  a  united 
world.  Are  there  not  some  signs  of  a  con- 
federated humanity  wherein  all  human 
rights  may  be  conserved?  To  this  end 
Christianity,  the  mightiest  factor  in  the  de- 
velopment of  human  nature,  is  bending  its 
energies.  And  to  this  end,  also,  the  spirit  of 
democracy  is  working.  To  a  large  extent  it 
has  abrogated  the  ancient  law  of  descent; 
it  has  already  abolished  the  divine  right  of 
kings  to  rule ;  and  it  is  demanding  and  secur- 
ing a  just  and  honest  distribution  of  the 
necessities  of  living.  These  and  other  agen- 
cies are  uniting  to  give  to  human  nature  the 
possession  of  all  its  vested  rights.  When  the 
movement  accomplishes  its  design,  the  demos 
will  come  into  its  own.  The  process  is  that 
of  psychological  education  rather  than  any 
form  of  force.  Public  sentiment  is  of  slow 
growth ;  but,  when  grown,  it  is  an  irresistible 

201 


HUMAN  NATURE 

power  in  a  democracy.  This  equitable  rule 
of  living  is  bound  to  become  the  law  of  life, 
for  the  great  wheel  of  evolution  rolls  on, 
using  all  agencies  for  this  accomplishment. 


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